About 60 people have died after an explosion at a makeshift gold mine in a village in south-west Burkina Faso, local officials say.
The blast happened in a market at the gold-mining site when dynamite stored there caught fire, witnesses said.
“There were bodies strewn everywhere. It was an explosion that managed to uproot trees and bring down houses,” a judicial source told Reuters.
Dozens of injured people have been evacuated to the nearest hospital.
It is thought women and children are among the casualties, the AFP news agency reports.
An investigation was opened into Monday’s incident, after the regional prosecutor visited the scene.
One person has been arrested, and is being held for questioning.
The goldmine has since been closed until further notice, according to Burkina Faso’s news agency, AIB.
Source:Fiilafmonline/BBC
