PARAMARIBO, Suriname – Suriname has declared two days of national mourning – Thursday and Friday – after Monday’s tragic mining disaster in the Brokopondo district to the south, which claimed the lives of a number of illegal gold miners.

The festivities, in connection with Independence Day on November 25, have also been adjusted.

The Suriname Police Force announced in an update on Wednesday that the death toll has risen from 14 to 15.

The incident took place around 3:00 pm (local time) on Monday when a mine shaft collapsed at an area where gold miners were operating illegally, burying an unknown number of people.

A man who survived the tragedy has been admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital in the capital with serious injuries.

On Tuesday morning, a team of rescuers from neighbouring French Guiana flew to the disaster site to assist with the rescue and recovery operations.

During an interview with journalists on Wednesday, before the weekly cabinet meeting, Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk called for gold miners who are still hanging around the disaster site to leave the area. They were told to stay away until the rescue operation was completed.

In Suriname, there are two industrial open-pit gold mines operated by Newmont and Zijin Mining.

In addition to these two large gold mines, there is large-scale illegal gold mining by so-called porknokkers or artisanal gold miners, due to the absence of supervision by the authorities and the fact that the small-scale gold sector is not organised. Successive governments have taken actions to regulate the sector in recent decades, but those efforts have not yielded the desired results.

According to unofficial figures, between 20,000 and 30,000 people earn their living in the gold industry, including gold diggers from Brazil, the so-called garimpeiros.

Following the tragedy, the government is being urged to finally implement effective ordering and regulation of the small-scale gold sector, so that similar incidents can be prevented in the future.

“As a society and as a country, let us continue to pray for the repose of the souls of those who died, but also for the relatives. And we hope that as a country we never experience such incidents again,” President Chandrikapersad Santokhi said in a televised address after the tragedy.

The head of state spoke of “a very serious situation” and “tragic news” and described the event as “a serious shock” for the government and Suriname.”

In his statement, he further noted that the authorities will take a “stricter and tighter” approach to the organisation of the gold sector to prevent such situations.

Meanwhile, the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (Caricom) has sent condolences to the government and people of Suriname following the tragedy.

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and all who are affected by this horrifying event,” the regional body said.

It added that it “stands ready to provide any support needed to the rescue and recovery operation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Government and people of Suriname at this very difficult time.”