At least 60 people have been killed in an explosion at a make-shift gold mine in Burkina Faso.
The incident occurred in a village near Gaoua in south-west Burkina Faso.
Dozens of people including women and children have also been injured.
Eyewitnesses say it happened as explosives stored near a gold panning site blew up.
Images showed a large blast site of felled trees and destroyed tin houses with bodies lying on the ground, covered in mats.
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According to local authorities most of the injured people were evacuated to the Gaoua regional hospital.
A regional prosecutor who visited the scene said an investigation had been opened into the tragedy.
Burkina Faso is home to some major gold mines run by international companies, but also to hundreds of smaller, informal sites that operate without oversight or regulation.
There is no sign that Islamist militants were involved in the explosion.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
