Yaounde, Aug 22 (IANS): At least 27 miners have been killed in a gold mine collapse in the Central African Republic (CAR), authorities said Friday.
The Ndassima mine is situated 400 km north of the country's capital Bangui and 60 km away from the northern town of Bambari, Ben Ousmane Abakar, an official, told Xinhua via phone.
"There were 27 bodies in front of me Thursday and there are still more bodies under the earth whose number is unknown," the official said.
Abakar said it is rainy season in the CAR and so it was very risky to work in gold mines.
"They were always asked not to conduct activities in the mine at this time of the rainy season and wait until November. They do not obey," he added.
Due to mismanagement, accidents in gold mines are not rare in the CAR. One similar accident in the same period last year killed 35 people.