At least 30 dead after landslide traps miners in Congo
At least 30 people have died in a semi-industrial copper mine in Congo after a bridge collapsed.
The disaster left around 49 people dead and another 20 hospitalised in critical condition.
Congo’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service said the collapse was ’caused by panic, reportedly triggered by gunfire from military personnel securing the site.’
They also claimed miners then ‘piled on top of each other, causing injuries and death.’
WTopNews reported that the ‘mine has long been at the center of a dispute between wildcat miners. a cooperative meant to organise operations and the site’s legal operators.’
Artisanal mining in Congo employs an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million people and indirectly supports more than 10 million others.
An independent investigation into the military’s role in the deaths has been called for by the Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights.
Reuters did not receive an immediate response from a military spokesperson.
In a televised statement, the provincial interior minister, Roy Kaumba, said that 32 people had been confirmed dead.
Mining accidents in unregulated artisanal mines are common, with dozens of deaths every year, as sites have ill-equipped diggers to burrow deep underground.
Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make batteries for electric vehicles and other products.
However, there have been many accusations of child labour, unsafe conditions and corruption in Congo’s mining industry.
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