The department of Saraya experienced a particularly tragic day. Two landslides occurred on Wednesday at artisanal and illegal gold mining sites. These two accidents, which took place within hours of each other in the communes of Bembou and Missirah Sirimana, claimed the lives of seven people and left one person seriously injured.

The first tragedy occurred in the afternoon, around 3 p.m., in the bush near Séguékho, a locality in the commune of Bembou. According to initial reports gathered on site, several Burkinabe gold miners were working in a pit dug using artisanal methods when a significant landslide occurred, burying the workers.

Alerted by the victims' cries, those present at the site immediately launched a rescue operation. They managed to pull one seriously injured survivor from the rubble, while six other gold miners were found dead beneath it. Initial findings suggest that the heavy rains of recent days, combined with the fragility of the tunnels dug without safety measures, contributed to the shaft's collapse.

A few hours later, around 7:25 p.m., a second accident further increased the death toll. This time, the tragedy occurred in the village of Sékhoto, in the commune of Missirah Sirimana. A man from Tambacounda, who was searching for gold-bearing sand at an old, abandoned mining site, was caught in a rockfall. Despite rescue attempts, he was pulled from the site dead.

Upon being informed, officers from the Saraya territorial brigade deployed to the various sites of the tragedies to carry out the usual procedures and open investigations to establish the exact circumstances of the landslides. The bodies of the victims were transported to medical facilities in Saraya and Kédougou, while the injured person received medical care.

These new accidents have reignited the debate on the risks associated with illegal gold mining in the Kédougou region. Each rainy season sees a surge in landslides at artisanal mining pits and abandoned sites, where the soil becomes particularly unstable due to rainfall. Despite awareness campaigns and enforcement operations, many gold miners continue to expose themselves daily to extreme dangers in the hope of discovering the precious metal.

This new, particularly heavy human toll underscores the urgent need to strengthen prevention measures, secure former mining sites and combat illegal mining in order to prevent such tragedies from continuing to bring grief to families.