Death toll from Mali gold mine accident now over 70 - state radio

BAMAKO (Reuters) -The death toll from last week's accident at an artisanal gold mine in southwest Mali has risen to more than 70, state radio said on Thursday.

The deaths were caused after a shaft collapsed on Friday inside an artisanal gold mining site in the Kangaba Cercle in Mali's southwestern Koulikoro Region.

The mines ministry reported over 40 killed on Wednesday but said that figure was provisional.

State radio, following a government delegation dispatched to the area on Thursday, said the death toll had risen to over 70, including one woman.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo;Writing by Sofia Christensen;Editing by Alison Williams and Mark Potter)