WORLD : Mudslides Bury 100 Prospectors

Mudslides caused by heavy rains buried more than 100 people who were illegally prospecting for gold in Burundi’s northeastern Muyinga mining district, official Radio Burundi reported today.

The radio, in the first report on the tragedy, said rescuers had recovered 27 bodies from one site alone since the dirt walls of a mine collapsed under the pressure of heavy rains Sunday.

“The rescuers are working around the clock to dig out bodies of other prospectors covered with the mass of earth,” said the radio report, monitored in Nairobi. “This is the worst tragedy to happen in Burundi’s mining history.”