A gold miner remains untraceable and 15 others were rescued from a pit on a mining site on Tuesday in the district of Mabayi in the province of Cibitoke (northwest Burundi). The district administration speaks of illegal gold miners on a site that is nevertheless legal. Residents are asking administration and security officials to take drastic measures to discourage gold miners who enter the sites at night. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The incident occurred in the locality of Gafumbegeti. It is in the Butahana zone in the district of Mabayi, in the province of Cibitoke in northwest Burundi. According to residents, around twenty gold miners were on the scene during the accident. The situation was aggravated by the diversion of a river whose waters flowed into the pit around 3 a.m. on July 9, 2024.

“From 3 a.m. to 2 p.m., we were able to save 15 individuals. The runoff water and piles of mud surprised them inside the holes several meters deep,” said a witness.

A person had not yet been found until Tuesday evening, noted an SOS Médias Burundi reporter.

“We fear the worst,” a survivor, still in shock, told our editorial staff.

The permanent secretary of the Mabayi district speaks of illegal gold miners who entered a legally known site during the night. Residents who spoke to SOS Médias Burundi are asking administration and security officials to take drastic measures to discourage gold miners who infiltrate mining sites at night.

At least 25 people died in similar circumstances on the same Gafumbegeti site in less than three months, local administration sources confirmed.

In an interview with SOS Médias Burundi, the governor of Cibitoke Carême Bizoza recently asked his subjects to join legally recognized cooperatives and associations to « avoid sanctions » and « allow their families to be compensated in the event of ‘accidents’.

Cibitoke is one of the regions of Burundi where large gold deposits are found.