A gold mine has collapsed in the east of Mali, leaving a preliminary death toll of 42 and many injured, according to Malian national television and local authorities.

The accident took place in an open-pit area people had gone into in search of gold. Informal mining is a common and dangerous practice in much of West Africa.

Forty-two people, mostly women, were killed and many injured after an artisanal gold mine collapsed in western Mali on Saturday, the head of an industry union said. The accident took place near the town of Kenieba in Mali's gold-rich Kayes region.

At least 48 people were killed in the collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in western Mali on Saturday, authorities and local sources told Agence France-Presse. Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers, and mining sites are regularly the scene of deadly landslides and accidents.

At least 48 people have been killed in the collapse of an illegal gold mine in western Mali, local sources confirmed.

Mali rescue workers have retrieved 49 bodies from an artisanal gold mine that collapsed in the country’s west on Saturday, according to Aliou Diallo, president of the local environmental protection association Wassaton.

The collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in western Mali on Saturday has killed 48 people, a local official said on Sunday (Feb 16).