Congo: Gold mine collapse kills 50

Congo: At least 50 people have been killed in a gold mine collapse in the eastern African country of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to foreign news agency Reuters, Emiliana Aitungwa, president of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) working for women’s rights, said the gold mine collapsed after heavy rains. She said that at the time of the accident, there were about 50 workers working in the mine, none of whom could be evacuated.

In the photos and videos released on social media, people were seen gathering towards the entrance of the sector. Many of them appeared immortal.

The company’s chief executive said the mine was not located on the ground floor of Banro Corporation, a Canadian mining company.

It is clear that accidents in the Congo are commonplace. Dozens of gold miners die each year in unsafe accidents.

A landslide at a gold mine in October last year killed 16 people. Earlier, in June 2019, a landslide at a copper and cobalt metal mine killed 43 illegal miners.