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The Central African Republic has temporarily shut a gold mine near the Cameroonian border after a landslide killed dozens of people earlier this week, the country's mines minister said.
Rufin Benam-Beltoungou visited the Zamboye artisanal gold mine on Wednesday and put the official death toll at 49, the ministry told AFP.
The minister confirmed this included 34 Central Africans, 13 Cameroonians and two Chadians.
Several local sources have told AFP that around 100 people died, with many still missing and likely buried beneath the rubble.
Seven injured people were taken to hospital in the nearby town of Baboua, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) away.
Security agencies guard mine
The mining site was closed and access to the pit barred on Thursday, an AFP correspondent reported.
Security reinforcements, including personnel from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, were deployed to the area.
Rescue efforts were suspended as the mine continued to collapse and recent heavy rains flooded its lower sections.
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