Deadly Mine Bridge Collapse Kills Dozens of Miners in Congo, Military Action Cited

At least 32 people were killed at the Kalando copper and cobalt mine in the southeastern Lualaba province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after a makeshift bridge collapsed due to overcrowding.

Provincial interior minister Roy Kaumbe Mayonde reported that the disaster occurred after "wildcat miners" ignored a formal ban on accessing the site due to heavy rain and landslide risks. The miners reportedly rushed across a makeshift bridge, constructed to cross a flooded trench, causing it to buckle.3 While Mayonde put the death toll at 32, a report from the DRC’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service (SAEMAPE) stated that at least 40 people lost their lives.

Panic and Disputes at the Site

The SAEMAPE report introduced a key factor: the collapse was preceded by gunfire from soldiers stationed at the mine, which sparked panic and caused the miners to rush the bridge. The resulting fall left the miners "piled on top of each other, causing the deaths and injuries," according to the report.

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 The site has been the focus of a longstanding dispute involving the wildcat miners, a cooperative intended to organise the digging, and the mine's legal operators, who reportedly have Chinese involvement. Arthur Kabulo, the provincial coordinator for the National Human Rights Commission, indicated that over 10,000 wildcat miners operate at Kalando.

Call for Investigation

Provincial authorities responded to the tragedy by suspending all operations at the mine.

The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights has since demanded an independent investigation into the military’s role in the fatalities, citing reports of clashes between the soldiers and the miners. The military has not yet issued a comment.

The DRC is globally significant as the world's largest producer of cobalt, a critical component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.8 However, the country's cobalt mining sector, 80 per cent of which is controlled by Chinese companies, has long been plagued by accusations of child labour, unsafe working conditions, and corruption. The DRC's vast mineral wealth continues to fuel conflicts that have devastated the country’s east for over three decades.

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