SEVERAL people have been killed in Liberia in an accident at an abandoned gold mine, the West African country’s mines minister said.
Minister Wilmot Paye said that seven people died in Monday night’s incident but acknowledged the authorities could not yet provide an exact death toll until a team reached the site in River Cess County in south-central Liberia.
“I was told that seven persons died, but I can’t say much until the team gets there. The mines had been abandoned several months ago,” Paye told Reuters, adding that he did not know which company had operated the site.
“If we get the details of the company, the law will take its course,” he said.
Liberia, one of the world’s poorest countries, is rich in minerals including gold, diamonds and iron ore. Paye gave no details about the nature of the accident.
