OUAGADOUGOU, Feb 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An explosion at an artisanal mine in Burkina Faso killed at least 60 people and wounded a similar number, local and medical sources said.
The blast, at a gold-panning site at Gomgombiro in the southwest of the country happened when a stock of dynamite blew up, said local officials and hospital staff.
“At least five casualties have succumbed to their wounds, bringing the toll to 60,” said one hospital source.
Women and children were among the 50 or so injured, the source added.
State television meanwhile reported a provisional toll of 59 dead.
A resident of Gomgombiro said the blast had been caused by a fire in an area where contraband sticks of dynamite were being stored, and which also served as a market for the mine.
The resident described horrific scenes from the blast site, which left a large crater and uprooted burnt-out trees.
Antoine Marie Sylvanus Doamba, high commissioner for the Poni province, said after a visit to the blast site that while the initial body-count had been 48, it had since risen to 60.
An investigation was opened into Monday’s incident, after the regional prosecutor visited the scene near the town of Gaoua.
One person has been arrested, and is being held for questioning.
The goldmine has since been closed until further notice according to Burkina Faso’s news agency, AIB.
The explosion has been described as destroying “everything on its path,” according to a local news reporter from RTB TV.
Many of the miners at the site are displaced people from elsewhere in the country, local leader Sansan Urbain Kambou said.
Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s biggest gold producers, with many mines run by international firms, as well as informal ones without little oversite or regulation.
Since 2009, gold has become Burkina Faso’s leading export, overtaking cotton.
In 2020, the country produced 54 tonnes of gold, compared to 45 tonnes in 2019, an increase of 20%, according to the ministry in charge of mines and quarries.
About a quarter of the total output is from unauthorised mines, which provide work for around 1.5 million people, the ministry estimates.
Deadly accidents such as roof collapses frequently happen at informal mines in many African countries.
Last month, at least 13 people were killed in a huge blast in neighbouring Ghana after a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine collided with a motorbike. — NNN-AGENCIES
Mine blast kills 55 in Burkina Faso: medical, local sources