At least 32 people died in a mine in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo after the bridge they were standing on collapsed. The accident occurred on Saturday and it is not entirely clear what happened.
An official from Lualaba province, where the mine is located, said the people killed were illegal miners who entered the mine even though entry was prohibited at the time because of heavy rain and the risk of landslides. However, on Sunday a government agency announced that many people rushed to the bridge, causing it to collapse, after some soldiers who were on site, guarding the site, started shooting. It is not known exactly who the soldiers were, why they were shooting, or whether it was at a person or in the air as a warning.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the country with the largest cobalt resources in the world. They are mainly concentrated in Kivu province, in the eastern region, where various armed groups are active, usually formed on ethnic or religious grounds, including M23, which as of 2024 occupied large areas of North and South Kivu provinces.
