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Artisanal gold mine explosion in Burkina Faso leaves 60 dead and 40 injured
The explosion of an artisanal gold mine, on Monday, February 21, in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina, on the African continent, left approximately 60 dead and around 40 people injured.
The noise of the detonation reached a rural commune of Gomgombiro, in the southwestern province of Poni, where the high commissioner of the area, Antoine Marie Sylvanus, reported the presence of 55 dead in the area at night.
This Tuesday, February 22, the local authorities reported that the number of deaths and those affected by the explosion had risen, so they immediately launched an investigation to determine the causes of said detonation.
"Around six o'clock on Monday afternoon, there was a strong explosion followed by a fire at an artisanal extraction site. (...) The provisional balance is 60 human lives lost," the governor of the region detailed in a statement. southwest, Wendinmanegdé Emmanuel Zongo.
In addition, the president pointed out that "the area of the incident will remain closed until the pertinent investigations are completed to clarify the event."
For their part, it was learned that the injured were taken to the Gaoua Regional Hospital, where they are treating several victims, including women and children. "The number of fatalities could increase, since some of the injured are still in critical condition and with a compromised prognosis," one of the hospital workers reported.
According to information provided by judicial sources, the owner of the market where the explosion occurred was detained for questioning, while the investigation determines the causes of the accident.
Previous investigations determined that detonations at a gold panning site hit flammable materials on site and started a fire.
Burkina Faso is the fifth largest gold producing country in all of Africa, there are large mines full of the precious metal, which are worked by international companies and many also carry out smaller informal operations that operate without legal regulation.
