The bridge at the Kalando mine in Mulondo in Lualaba province fell on Saturday, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the province’s interior minister, said during a press conference.
“Despite the strict prohibition on accessing the site due to heavy rainfall and the risk of landslides, illegal diggers forced their way into the quarry,” Mayonde said.
report by the DRC’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service, or SAEMAPE, government agency on Sunday said the gunfire from soldiers at the site sparked panic among the miners who rushed to the bridge resulting in the fall that left them “piled on top of each other causing the deaths and injuries.” While Mayonde put the death toll at at least 32, the report said at least 40 people had lost their lives.
The mine has long been at the center of a dispute between wildcat miners, a cooperative meant to organize operations, and the site’s legal operators, the report added.
