More than a dozen people are killed in a gold mining disaster in Mali, including women and children

The national organization of gold counters and refineries (UCROM) reported on Saturday that 13 artisanal miners, including women and three children, were murdered in southwest Mali on Wednesday after a tunnel where they were searching for gold flooded.

UCROM Secretary General Taoule Camara reported over the phone that the tragedy happened in an open-pit gold mine close to the hamlet of Danga in the Kangaba Cercle in Mali’s southwest Koulikoro area.

A filthy water reservoir’s sluice gates burst, spilling into a tunnel where women and children were excavating to find any remaining gold particles.

“It’s serious. Many ladies were present. Earlier this week, when a death toll was still unknown, Camara stated, “We spent the entire day yesterday clearing away the water to begin looking for the bodies.”

Much of West Africa engages in artisanal mining, which has grown more profitable recently as a result of higher metal prices and increased demand.

Because artisanal miners sometimes employ unlicensed mining techniques, deadly accidents are common.

In January of last year, a shaft collapsed at an artisanal gold mining location in the Kangaba Cercle, killing over 70 people.