The death toll from the collapse of an illegal gold mining operation in Suriname has risen to 14.
Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi said the accident happened in the gold concession of the Chinese owned Zijing Mining, which acquired Rosebel Goldmines from IamGold earlier this year.
Rosebel is one of South America’s largest open-pit gold projects. But the presence of illegal gold miners is said to have created an unsafe situation in the area.
Santokhi said that at the request of Zijing Mining, a large number of illegal gold diggers were removed by the police and army a few weeks ago from the place where a large gold vein had been discovered.
However, the group of illegal miners reportedly returned after a few days.
The authorities say that if it becomes necessary, Suriname will request assistance from Brazil in the rescue operation.
