At Least 32 People Dead After a Mine Bridge Collapsed Due to Overcrowding

At least 32 people are dead after a bridge at a copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo collapsed due to overcrowding.

According to reports from the Associated Press, AFP and Al Jazeera, a bridge at the Kalando mine, located in the southeastern province of Lualaba, fell on Saturday, Nov. 15.

Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the province’s interior minister, said during a press conference that illegal diggers made their way into the quarry.

“Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry,” Mayonde said, adding that the bridge was a makeshift structure that was created to help miners get across a flooded trench.

Photos obtained by AFP from the provincial office of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) showed miners digging out bodies from the trench, as at least 17 bodies lay on the ground nearby.

A report from the Congo’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service (SAEMAPE), obtained by the outlets on Sunday, Nov. 16, said that miners panicked after nearby soldiers opened fire.

The miners then rushed to the bridge and it collapsed, leaving them “piled on top of each other, causing the deaths and injuries.” The report estimated that at least 40 people had died, and operations at the site were suspended on Sunday.

According to the report, the Kalando mine has been the focal point of a long-lasting dispute between the wildcat miners — a cooperative meant to organize digging operations there — and the site’s legal operators.

Congo is the largest global producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for cell phones, electric vehicles and other products. The industry has long been plagued by allegations of poor working conditions, child labor and corruption.

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According to AFP, CNDH provincial coordinator Arthur Kabulo said more than 10,000 wildcat miners operated at Kalando.

The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights called for an independent investigation into the military’s role in the deaths, according to Al Jazeera, citing reports of clashes between miners and soldiers.

The Congo has faced violence between government forces and militant groups for more than three decades.