Landslide at Chad gold mine kills at least 30 – minister

Defence Minister Mahamat Sala says more victims might still be buried in rubble after a mine in Tibesti region near Libyan border collapsed on Tuesday.

Tibesti, the province where the accident occurred, is largely lawless and home to numerous gangs and traffickers seeking to profit from the gold rush.

Tibesti, the province where the accident occurred, is largely lawless and home to numerous gangs and traffickers seeking to profit from the gold rush.

A landslide at an illegal gold mine in Chad has killed about 30 people, a government minister said on Thursday.

The mine in the Tibesti region near the Libyan border collapsed early on Tuesday and more victims might still be buried in the rubble, defence minister Mahamat Sala told Reuters news agency.

An army officer who requested anonymity spoke of "around 30 deaths," basing the figure on witness accounts with the army yet to arrive on the scene which is in a remote small town.

A local lawmaker spoke for his part of "a dozen deaths," basing his tally on what witnesses had related to him.

Illegal mining

Tibesti has witnessed rapid growth in illegal mining in recent years, often by refugees from Sudan looking for quick money to head to Europe or by rebels fighting the army.

Unsafe methods and a lack of oversight mean accidents are common at such mines in Africa, where impoverished communities seek a share of the vast resources that are usually dug up by international companies, processed and sent overseas.

Last June, more than 40 people died when part of a Glencore copper and cobalt mine collapsed in southeast Congo.

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