At least 48 people have been killed in the collapse of an illegally manipulated gold mine in West Mali, authorities and local sources said.
Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers, and mining sites regularly have scenes of fatal landslides and accidents.
Authorities are struggling to control unregulated mining of precious metals in the country, one of the world's poorest people.
“Tolls [6pm] today [Saturday] 48 people have been killed since the collapse,” police sources said.
“Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them was a woman with a baby on her back.”
Local officials have checked the caves and the Kennyva Gold Miners Association has also brought the death toll to 48.
The head of the environmental organization said a search for the victim was ongoing.
Saturday's accident occurred in an abandoned location previously run by a Chinese company, sources told AFP.
In January, a landslide in Goldmine in southern Mali killed at least 10 people, leaving many others missing.
Just about a year ago, a tunnel collapsed at a gold mining site in the same area as the landslide on Saturday, killing more than 70 people.
