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At least 32 wildcat miners were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Saturday when a makeshift bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in Lualaba province.
The accident occurred at the Kalando mine, near the provincial capital of Kolwezi, where the bridge fell onto a flooded trench. Officials confirmed 32 bodies had been recovered, with search efforts ongoing.
Despite a formal ban on access due to heavy rain and landslide risks, the wildcat miners—estimated to number over 10,000 at this site—forced their way into the quarry.
Provincial Interior Minister Roy Kaumba Mayonde stated that the rush of miners across the makeshift structure caused it to collapse.
The incident highlights the long-running issues in the DRC’s cobalt sector, which accounts for over 70% of the world’s supply of the battery metal.
Local reports also suggested that the presence of soldiers at the mine, a site of long-standing conflict between the illegal miners, a cooperative, and the legal, Chinese-involved operators, may have triggered a panic that contributed to the disaster.
Provincial authorities have since suspended all operations at the mine.
