At least 32 miners have died after a bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a regional government official confirmed Sunday.
Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the Lualaba provincial interior minister, said the incident occurred on Saturday at the Kalando mine, located about 42 kilometres southeast of Kolwezi, the provincial capital. The bridge, which miners used to cross a flooded trench, gave way as dozens rushed across it, plunging them into the water below.
Mayonde said 32 bodies have so far been recovered, though search efforts are ongoing as more miners are feared trapped beneath the debris. He added that despite a formal ban on access to the site due to heavy rains and the risk of landslides, wildcat (informal) miners forced their way into the quarry.
The DRC produces over 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, a critical mineral used in batteries for electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones. But the sector is plagued by illegal mining, unsafe conditions, corruption, and long-standing disputes between local miners and companies with legal concessions.
According to a report by SAEMAPE, a government agency overseeing mining cooperatives, the presence of soldiers at the site earlier in the day triggered panic among the miners. The report said the mine has been at the center of a long-running dispute involving informal miners, a cooperative mandated to organise operations, and the legal operators—who reportedly have Chinese investment ties.
When the bridge collapsed, miners fell into the flooded trench, “piling on top of each other, causing multiple deaths and injuries,” the report stated.
Images shared with AFP by the provincial branch of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) showed miners retrieving bodies from the mud while at least 17 corpses lay on the ground nearby. Arthur Kabulo, the CNDH provincial coordinator, said more than 10,000 wildcat miners were estimated to be operating at the Kalando site.
Following the tragedy, provincial authorities suspended all mining operations at Kalando on Sunday.
The disaster once again exposes the dangerous conditions that characterise much of the DRC’s informal mining sector. Accusations of child labour, hazardous working environments, corruption, and ongoing conflicts involving mineral-rich territories have long overshadowed the country’s vast natural wealth.
The DRC’s mineral reserves have also fueled violence in the east for more than three decades, contributing to one of Africa’s longest-running humanitarian crises.
Authorities say investigations into the cause of the collapse and the events leading up to the tragedy are underway.
