A new fatal accident linked to artisanal gold mining has occurred in the prefecture of Mandiana, Upper Guinea. Five women lost their lives on Monday, March 9, 2026, after a mining shaft collapsed at a site located in Kanté-Doubalandou, in the sub-prefecture of Dialakoro. According to several local sources, the tragedy occurred at the gold mining site known as Djökola, a place frequented by local residents who go there daily in the hope of finding gold.

A brutal and deadly collapse

According to eyewitness accounts, the victims were involved in ore washing and processing when the walls of a shaft suddenly collapsed. The ensuing landslide buried them under the rubble, causing panic among the many workers present at the site.

In this part of Upper Guinea, artisanal gold mining represents one of the main sources of income for the local population. Many women actively participate in the various stages of gold panning, particularly washing the ore, despite the constant dangers associated with the extremely precarious working conditions.

The poignant accounts of the witnesses

Reached by phone, Amara Kanté, whose family member was among the victims, recounted hearing the collapse while he was in the immediate vicinity of the site. “I was sitting in a café near the mine when we heard a loud noise. We immediately understood that the shaft walls had just given way,” he explained. According to him, the victims were four married women and a young girl. His mother-in-law, Koumba Kanté, was among those who died in the accident. “After the accident, we spent the entire night participating in the search for the bodies,” he added, his voice thick with emotion.

A citizen mobilization to extract the bodies

After the landslide, local residents and young people from neighboring villages quickly mobilized to try and rescue the victims. The search operations lasted several hours in difficult conditions before the bodies were finally recovered. "The accident occurred in the afternoon, and it wasn't until around 8 p.m. that the bodies were found. The young people of Balandougouba were a great help to us in the search," explained Amara Kanté. Once recovered, the remains were transported to a medical facility before being released to the families for burial.

A series of tragic events that reignites the debate on security

This tragedy comes less than a month after another deadly landslide in Kondianakoura, also in the Mandiana prefecture, where ten women lost their lives in similar circumstances. The recurrence of these tragic accidents has once again reignited the debate about safety at artisanal gold mining sites in Guinea. In most cases, workers operate without any personal protective equipment or technical supervision, exposing local populations to the constant risk of landslides.