An explosion near an informal gold mine in Burkina Faso killed around 60 people and injured more than a hundred.
There were different statements about the cause.
According to some eyewitnesses, explosives stored at a market ignited, others suspected that chemicals used to process the gold-bearing rock were the cause.
Claudia Bröll
Freelance Africa correspondent based in Cape Town.
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The explosion was so violent that "trees were uprooted," eyewitnesses said.
Everything in the area was destroyed, huts made of wood and corrugated iron collapsed.
After the first explosion on Monday afternoon, more had happened.
People ran for their lives.
Several dozen injured were taken to a hospital.
Women and children are said to be among the victims.
According to the Reuters news agency, one person was arrested and an investigation into the accident was launched.
Accidents are not uncommon in informal mines in Africa.
So-called "artisanal mining" is an important source of income for the poor in many countries, but the pits are not secured and regulated like the mines of mining companies.
The mined gold often reaches the market via smuggling routes and numerous middlemen.
Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali are leading gold producers in West Africa.
A few weeks ago, at least 13 people were killed in Ghana when a truck carrying explosives collided with a motorcycle on its way to a mine.