Mali [West Africa], January 25 (ANI): More than 70 people have died in southwest Mali after an artisanal gold mine collapsed last week, officials said, Al Jazeera reported.

The disaster on last Friday was in a region which is prone to mining accidents.

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Mali's Ministry of Mines in a statement on Tuesday said that "several" miners have been killed in the Kangaba district in southwestern Koulikoro region.

The ministry said it "deeply regretted" the collapse and urged miners and communities in the area to "comply with safety requirements".

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A spokesperson for the ministry Baye Coulibaly said the gold panners dug galleries "without complying with the required standards".

Coulibaly said: "We have advised them against it on several occasions in vain."

Mali's government offered its "deepest condolences to the grieving families and to the Malian people".

It also called on "communities living near mining sites and gold miners to scrupulously respect safety requirements and to work only within the perimeters dedicated to gold panning", as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)

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