Seven dead in Guinea goldmine collapse

Police forces patrol on February 18, 2014 in Conakry, Guinea. By Cellou Diallo (AFP/File)

Conakry (AFP) - Five women and two girls have been killed in a landslide at a goldmine in northeastern Guinea, police said on Wednesday.

The collapse happened on Tuesday in Kintinian, a settlement by Siguiri, a city on the Niger river near the border with Mali.

"The collapse of the mine, which also wounded at least eight people, including two seriously, occurred... at dawn in a goldmine frequented by illegal miners who don't think twice about going into deep shafts that only they know and which can be up to 100 metres (330 feet) long," a policeman said on condition of anonymity.

He said authorities had shut the mine several times after discovering non-licensed miners working in its shafts.

Guinea sits atop huge deposits of gold, bauxite and diamond but the majority of its people live in poverty and unregulated and dangerous artisanal mining by individuals is commonplace.

Around 20 miners were killed in a landslide at a goldmine in Siguiri in November last year, and another eight were killed in the eastern town of Mandiana in March.

"Over the past five years there have been at least seven accidents like this which have left at least 46 people dead," said Siguiri resident Mamadou Diawara, who saw the collapse.

Police said artisanal mining had been banned in the area since 2012 and they were investigating a Guinean mining company over the incident.