Central African Republic authorities have ordered an artisanal gold mine near the Cameroonian border to be closed after the mines minister said 49 people had died there in a deadly collapse.
Mines Minister Rufin Beltoungou said the government would formally suspend activity at the site in Zamboye until further notice following the disaster on Tuesday.
Beltoungou said the dead were 35 Central Africans, 12 Cameroonians and two Chadians.
A senior official at a local mining association had said on Wednesday that more than 100 people had been killed.
A prosecutor said rescue efforts were continuing and that the number of casualties was still being established.
