AT least 30 people died when a bridge collapsed at a semi-industrial copper mine in southeastern Congo on Saturday, said Reuters citing the country’s artisanal mining agency.
An agency official told Reuters the death toll had reached 49, with 20 people hospitalised in critical condition following the incident at the Kalando mining site in Lualaba province.
The collapse was “caused by panic, reportedly triggered by gunfire from military personnel securing the site”, said Congo’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service, known by its French acronym SAEMAPE.
Miners then “piled on top of each other, causing injuries and death”, SAEMAPE added in a statement on Sunday.
The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights has called for an independent investigation into the military’s role in the deaths, citing reports of clashes between miners and soldiers. A military spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Roy Kaumba, the provincial interior minister, said in a televised statement that 32 people had been confirmed dead.
Mining accidents are common in unregulated artisanal mines across Congo, with dozens of deaths occurring annually at sites where often ill-equipped diggers burrow deep underground in search of valuable minerals, said Reuters.
The incident highlights ongoing safety concerns at informal mining operations that supply significant quantities of copper and other minerals to global markets, the newswire added.
