Earth collapsing in mining areas has been very reocurring lately in Siguiri. In the evening of Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, an artisanal gold mine collapsed in the district of Foulata, a locality belonging to the sub-refecture of Maléya, located 65 kilometers away from Siguiri. Result: two dead on the spot and one person wounded.

The dead are Kaïn Camara, coming from Foulata, aged 55, married to two wives and father of 16 chilkdren, including six boys, and Laye Keïta, coming also from Foulata, married to two wives and father of seven children. They passed away in an old gold mine in Foulata, within the Siguiri prefecture.

Asked about the circumstances of the the tragic event which left the community of gold panners in turmoil, the president of the local Red Cross told our reporter: " We are very sad today, it is a deadly earth collapsing that has occurred in our district, here at Foulata. Two people were killed and one seriously wounded. What we can say to gold panners, it is to be careful while working as these mines are lousy. The area where the collapsing took place is an old mine that was no more operational. There were five of them under ground, fortunately three were saved thanks to God, the two others passed away", said the president of the local Red Cross.

The local Red Cross further said thanks to the help of everyone, the injured person was taken to the Siguiri prefectural hospital for intensive care.

One should also note that mining activities contitute nowadays a real danger for young gold panners who are often viticims of earth collapsing and exposed to diseases.

According to specialists, over 40 gold panners have lost their lives because of earth collapsing in a three-month-period of time in Siguiri.