Death toll rises to 52 in African gold mine collapse

The Central African gold mine collapse, which occurred Sunday as a result of heavy rainfall, has claimed the lives of 52 people near the Ndassima village.

The provisional figure was 37.

Local officials fear that the number of deceased could rise higher still as 64 additional miners are known to have been working in the pit at the time of collapse.

The Central African Republic is among the poorest nations in Africa and suffers from notoriously insufficient infrastructure.