RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service

Situation Update No. 2

Posted:2010-03-19, 18:44:06 [UTC]

Ref.no.: AC-20100319-25378-SLE

Situation Update No. 2
On 2010-03-21 at 04:58:40 [UTC]

Event: Technological Disaster
Location: Sierra Leone Bo District Unofficial gold mine

Number of Deads: 200 person(s)
Number of Evacuated: 20 person(s)

Gold mines around the remote Sierra Leone town of Baomahun showed no evidence of a collapse on Saturday, a Reuters television crew said, corroborating an official denial that a mining disaster had occurred there. A Minerals Ministry spokesman said on Friday at least 200 people had been killed when a mine in the area some 180 miles (300 km) south of the capital Freetown collapsed, a statement that was refuted hours later by his minister. Local shallow pit artisanal mines seen by Reuters were all intact, while a larger mine project run by UK-listed resources company Cluff Gold there showed no signs of damage. "Nothing like that ever happened," Baomahun town chief Jospeh Kowa said. "This is bad for the image of the town." Town life appeared as normal, with a bustling market and no public evidence of grieving among locals. The statement by the ministry spokesman was carried widely by local and international media including Reuters. Mineral Resources Minister Alpha Kanu said on Friday the misinformation was based on a rumour but did not elaborate further. Unofficial gold mining is common in Africa where miners usually have no professional training or equipment and often dig by hand. Accidents are frequent at the sites, which do not meet safety standards found at professionally engineered mines.