Congo (KAAB TV) – Dozens of artisanal miners have died in a tragic accident at a mine in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to multiple emergency and government sources.
The incident occurred on Saturday, at the Kalando copper-cobalt mine in Mulondo, located in Lualaba province.
According to Roy Kaumba Mayonde, Lualaba’s provincial interior minister, at least 32 bodies have so far been recovered.
However, a government agency report suggests the death toll may be as high as 40, indicating that more victims could be missing.
The bridge that collapsed was a makeshift structure, built for miners to cross a rain-flooded trench at the mine.
Heavy rainfall and a risk of landslide had led to a formal ban on access to the site, but many “wildcat” (informal) miners forced their way in despite the dangers.
According to SAEMAPE (the DRC’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service), panic broke out among the miners after soldiers reportedly fired shots near the site.
The panic prompted a mass rush onto the narrow bridge, causing it to collapse; victims “piled on top of each other,” leading to many deaths.
The Kalando mine has been at the center of a longstanding dispute: wildcat miners (informal diggers) are in tension with a cooperative that was meant to organize them, as well as with the legal operators of the mine — reportedly with Chinese involvement.
Over 10,000 informal miners are said to work at the site, according to the National Human Rights Commission’s provincial coordinator.
Human rights organizations are calling for an independent investigation, particularly into the role of the military at the site, given that the reported gunfire may have triggered the deadly collapse.
The tragedy underscores the wider dangers of artisanal mining in the DRC: many miners lack safety equipment, and unregulated operations are common.
The DRC is a major global supplier of cobalt, essential for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, laptops, and phones.
The mining sector in the DRC has long been criticized for unsafe working conditions, child labor, and corruption.
This incident is a stark reminder of the high human cost behind parts of the global supply chain, especially in the cobalt sector.
The combination of informal mining, lack of infrastructure, and military presence raises serious questions about regulation, safety, and accountability. The call for an independent investigation is likely to intensify, especially as the final death toll remains uncertain.