The death toll from a gold mine collapse in western Central African Republic has risen above 100, turning a remote artisanal site near the Cameroon border into the scene of one of the country’s deadliest mining disasters in recent memory.

The collapse occurred at an informal mine outside the village of Zamboye in Nana-Mambéré prefecture, where hundreds of men and women dig for gold using hand tools and rudimentary equipment. Local Red Cross volunteers and community leaders said more than 100 bodies have been recovered, with many others still missing and feared buried beneath unstable earth.

Survivors described a deafening roar as the walls of the open pit gave way, sending tons of soil crashing down on miners working below. Those who escaped scrambled to dig with shovels, buckets and their bare hands, forming human chains to pull out the injured and the dead.

“Finding them alive would be a miracle,” said Bertrand Be Yangué, a member of the Zamboye youth council, as exhausted volunteers continued to search through the mud. He said many of the victims were young people who had come to the mine after leaving school or small farms, hoping to earn enough to support their families.

Footage from the site shows miners caked in mud hauling bodies up steep, slippery slopes while others shout names into the chaos, searching for relatives and friends. Makeshift stretchers fashioned from wooden poles and cloth carry the injured toward waiting motorbikes and pickup trucks pressed into service as ambulances.

Local authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the collapse, identify the dead and establish who was responsible for operating the mine. The prosecutor in Baboua sub-prefecture said investigators will also examine whether negligence or illegal practices could lead to criminal charges.

Artisanal mining is a lifeline for thousands in the Central African Republic, but the sector is plagued by weak oversight, poor infrastructure and almost no safety standards. Miners often work without helmets, supports or proper drainage, leaving pits vulnerable to sudden cave-ins, especially after heavy rain.

The scale of the Zamboye tragedy has intensified calls from civil society groups and local leaders for stricter regulation, better training and basic protective measures at informal sites. In Zamboye, however, the immediate focus remains on the grim task of recovery, as families wait in anguish for news of loved ones who have not returned from the mine.