At least 13 people have died and several are missing following the collapse of a gold mine on Monday evening in central Liberia, a government disaster management agency official told AFP on Wednesday.
Around 25 miners were trapped in the pit when the ground gave way. Thirteen lifeless bodies and four survivors have been found, said Archievego Doe, a spokesperson for the national agency.
The survivors have received medical attention and the search continues for other victims, he added.
Gold mining sites are often the scene of deadly collapses, as the activity is dangerous and authorities struggle to control the artisanal mining of the metal.
Liberia, one of the poorest countries on the planet, has long faced illicit gold and diamond mining activities, for which it lacks resources.
In 2020, about fifty people were killed in a mine collapse in the northwest.
Deadly accidents are regularly reported in the sub-region.
In January, more than 70 people were killed in the collapse of a gallery at a gold mining site in southwestern Mali.
In February 2022, an explosion of a dynamite stockpile at an artisanal gold site killed at least 59 people in southwestern Burkina Faso.