More than 100 people are likely dead after a gold mine collapsed in the Central African Republic; many are buried under debris as rescue efforts continue.

The mine’s collapse occurred on Tuesday, August 18, at an informal gold mining site located in Zamboye village in the Nana-Mambere region along the border with Cameroon.

Authorities and a Red Cross worker involved in the recovery reported over 100 bodies were pulled from the wreckage.

Some of the few survivors who managed to escape are now seriously injured. Others are either missing, or trapped under the landslide. Therefore, the death toll will most certainly rise during ongoing rescue missions.

The mine was an informal operation and it lacked basic safety regulations (i.e., working in underground tunnels) due to its non-technological nature.

According to authorities, multiple underground tunnels collapsed which triggered the tragedy. An inquiry has begun to establish how the collapse occurred and if there are those who should be liable for such a disaster.

Due to both remoteness of the area and poor conditions, recovery efforts have been extremely challenging. Recovery personnel continued to sift through rubble yesterday in hopes of finding potential survivors.

It appears that an official count of the number of fatalities will take time to develop. Reports earlier indicated the death toll would exceed dozens.

Later, reports from locals indicated that greater than 100 bodies were recovered by officials.