Ahmad 
More than 70 people have died after an unofficial gold mine collapsed late last week, a senior Malian official said, adding that searches were continuing amid fears that the death toll could rise.
Karim Berthy, a senior official with the Malian government’s National Directorate of Geology and Mining, confirmed the details to The Associated Press on Wednesday, noting that the incident was an emergency.
Berthy stressed that, “The state must regulate this artisanal mining sector to avoid this kind of accident in the future.”
The cause of Friday’s collapse, which the Ministry of Mines announced in a statement on Tuesday, was not immediately clear.
The Ministry of Mines’ statement expressed “deep regret” over the collapse and urged miners as well as communities near mining sites to “comply with safety requirements”.
The collapse occurred in the Kanjaba region of the southwestern Koulikoro region, and such incidents are common in Mali, Africa’s third-largest gold producer, and miners are often accused of ignoring safety measures, especially in remote areas.