The low-tech, artisanal gold mine collapsed on Tuesday morning in the village of Zamboye, in the Nana-Mambere prefecture, near the border with Cameroon.
In addition to the dead, several survivors were critically injured, said Gervais Ganagoroh, a local Red Cross volunteer involved in relief efforts.
The death toll is likely to rise since several people were still missing and others were trapped under the rubble, said Bertrand Be Yangué, a member of the Zamboye youth council.
"Finding them alive would be a miracle," Yangué said.
"We are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to the mines to save their families from despair."
An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the collapse, identify the victims and those responsible for operating the site, and establish any potential criminal liability, the prosecutor at the Baboua sub-prefecture court said in a statement.
Footage showed miners, mostly young men and women covered in mud, pulling out a body from the pit while dozens of other miners and workers were scattered around the expansive site, some shouting for help.
Artisanal mine collapses are common in the Central African Republic, where several thousand people work in small-scale extraction mining.
11°C