At least 48 people have died in the collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in western Mali, authorities and local sources said.
Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers and its mining sites are regularly the scene of deadly landslides and accidents.
Authorities are struggling to control unregulated mining of precious metals in the country, one of the world's poorest.
"As of 18:00 today, Saturday, the death toll from the collapse is 48. Some of the victims fell into the water. Among them is a woman with a baby on her back," a police source said.
A local official confirmed the collapse, while the Kenieba gold miners' association put the death toll at 48.
The head of the environmental group said the search for the victims was continuing.
In January, a landslide at a gold mine in southern Mali killed at least 10 people and left many missing, mostly women.
A little over a year ago, a tunnel collapsed at a gold mining site in the area where Saturday's landslide occurred, killing more than 70 people.
