Several killed in accident at abandoned Liberia gold mine

MONROVIA (Reuters) – Several people have been killed in an accident at an abandoned gold mine in Liberia, the West African country’s mines minister said on Tuesday.

Minister Wilmot Pay said Tuesday that seven people died in Monday night’s incident, but acknowledged that authorities would not know the death toll until a team reached the scene in River Cess county in south-central Liberia. Cannot tell exact number.

“I was told seven people died, but I can’t say much until the team gets there. The mines were abandoned several months ago,” Paye told Reuters. He said he did not know which company operated the site.

“If we get the details of the company, the law will take its course,” he said.

Liberia, one of the poorest countries in the world, is rich in minerals including gold, diamonds and iron ore. Paye did not provide any details about the nature of the accident.

(Reporting by James Harding Jiahue and Alfonso Toveh; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Alison Williams)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters,