Scores killed in Burkina Faso gold mine explosion
Large blast at an informal gold mining site in southwestern Poni province leaves at least 60 dead and dozens of others wounded, officials say.
Informal gold miners are seen taking a break from work under the midday sun at an artisanal mining site near Dano, southern Burkina Faso on May 5, 2020.
About 60 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in an explosion at an informal gold mining site in southwest Burkina Faso, state television reported, citing local officials.
The cause of the explosion in Poni province was not yet known, Poni's high commissioner Antoine Douamba told state television on Monday.
Images showed a large blast site of felled trees and destroyed tin houses. Bodies lay on the ground, covered in mats.
It was not clear exactly what kind of gold mining went on at the site.
Burkina Faso is home to some major gold mines run by international companies, but also to hundreds of smaller, informal sites that operate without oversight or regulation.
Children frequently work in these so-called artisanal mines; accidents are common.
Militant insurgency
Burkina Faso, one of the world's least developed countries, is under attack from militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Daesh who seek control of mining sites as a means to fund their violent attacks.
Monday's blast was hundreds of miles from where these groups usually operate and there was no sign that militants were involved.
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