US EditionAt Least 32 Killed in Southeastern Congo After Bridge at Mine Collapsed, Authorities Say
- On Saturday, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, Lualaba provincial interior minister, said a bridge at the Kalando mine in Mulondo collapsed, killing at least 32 people after wildcat miners overcrowded the makeshift bridge despite a formal ban.
- Amid long-running disputes, the site's security actions provoked panic after SAEMAPE said gunfire from soldiers securing the site triggered miners to rush the bridge.
- An agency official who spoke to Reuters said there were 49 deaths and 20 people taken to hospital in critical condition, while other reports and SAEMAPE put the toll at at least 40.
- Provincial authorities in Lualaba suspended operations at the site on Sunday, and the Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights called for an independent investigation into the military's role.
- Artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo employs 1.5 million to 2 million people and indirectly supports more than 10 million, while Chinese companies control 80% of cobalt production.
127 Articles
127 Articles
Landslide traps miners in DR Congo, killing at least 30
This is the moment a landslide devastated a cobalt mine in the Lualaba Province of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, said 32 bodies have been recovered and more were being searched for following the incident on Saturday (15 November). After gunfire was heard, miners attempted to flee the area, overcrowding a narrow bridge and causing it to collapse, according to SAEMAPE, the country's artisan…
At least 32 people killed in DR Congo after bridge collapses at mine during heavy rain
At least 32 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to officials, after a bridge at a copper and cobalt mine collapsed due to overcrowding. The incident occurred at the Kalando mine in southeastern Lualaba province on Saturday, the province's interior minister, Roy Kaumbe Mayonde, said on Sunday. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat min…
Artisanal miners had placed a wooden structure as a temporary step, which became a deadly trap by yielding under their own weight.
A major accident has occurred at the Kalondo copper mine in Loalaba Province, located in southeastern Congo. A bridge collapsed at the mine, causing panic and claiming the lives of 32 people. This incident is considered the worst mining accident in Congo to date.
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