Nearly 60 people have been killed in a series of explosions at a gold mine in Burkina Faso. Which reports Reuters news agency† More than a hundred people were injured. The disaster took place in the southwest of the country, where a lot of illegal gold mining occurs.
The gold mine was located in the village of Gbomblora in the province of Poni. First, a pile of dynamite would have exploded, then chemicals used in gold mining would have exploded. “I saw bodies everywhere. It was terrible,” said an eyewitness against news agency AP†
Images on social media show enormous havoc. Women and children living in the village are also said to have died in the explosions. The injured are being taken care of in a nearby hospital, the death toll from the explosions is expected to rise.
Gold is one of Burkina Faso’s biggest exports and, in addition to some major international mines, there is a lot of illegal gold mining taking place, often with little oversight of security measures. Some mines are also said to be used by jihadist movements to finance their activities.