An explosion at an informal gold mine in southwestern Burkina Faso killed about 60 people and injured dozens more on Monday, state television reported, citing local officials.
The cause of the explosion in Poni province is not yet known, the chief commissioner of Poni, Antoine Douamba, told state television.
Images showed a large blast site with trees felled and tin houses destroyed. Bodies lay on the ground, covered with mats.
It was not clear what kind of gold mining was going on at the site. Burkina Faso has a few large gold mines operated by international companies, but also hundreds of smaller, informal mines that operate without supervision or regulation.
Children often work in these so-called artisanal mines; accidents are common.
Burkina Faso, one of the world's least developed countries, is under attack by Islamist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State that seek control of mines as a means of financing their violent attacks.
An estimated 200 people were killed in a deadly two-day rampage in search of gold in Solhan, in the northern province of Yagha, last June in attacks by a local militia.
Monday's blast was hundreds of miles from where these groups normally operate, and there was no indication that Islamist militants were involved.
Burkina Faso loses up to 20 tons of gold worth about $1 billion a year on the open market through informal mining and export.