Central Africa: At least 32 people have died after a makeshift bridge collapsed at the Kalando copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Lualaba province.
The incident occurred when overcrowding caused the bridge built to cross a flooded trench to give way. Provincial Interior Minister Roy Kaumbe Mayonde said access to the site had been formally banned due to heavy rains and the risk of a landslide. Despite the restrictions, thousands of wildcat miners forced their way in. As miners rushed across the fragile bridge, it collapsed under the weight.
A report by the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service (SAEMAPE) said gunfire from soldiers at the site sparked panic, prompting miners to flee toward the bridge. Many fell and became trapped as they ‘piled on top of each other’, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries. While Mayonde reported at least 32 deaths, SAEMAPE’s assessment put the toll at a minimum of 40.
Authorities say the mine has long been plagued by tensions among wildcat miners, a cooperative tasked with regulating operations, and the site’s legal operators, who reportedly include Chinese stakeholders. More than 10,000 informal miners are estimated to work at Kalando, according to Arthur Kabulo of the National Human Rights Commission.
Operations at the site were suspended. The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights has called for an independent investigation into the military’s involvement after reports of clashes between miners and soldiers. The Congolese army has not commented.
The DRC, the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a critical mineral used in lithium-ion batteries has faced persistent criticism over unsafe working conditions, child labour, and corruption in its mining sector. The country’s vast mineral reserves have also fuelled decades of conflict in its eastern regions.
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