At least 200 people were killed after a coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo collapsed, the Reuters news agency reported.
Citing a spokesperson for a governor in the province where the mine is located, Reuters said the mine collapse was triggered by a landslide.
“More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women,” said spokesman Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, according to Reuters.
The mine collapse occurred on January 28 in a place called Rubaya, which is under the control of the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23, but the actual death toll remained unclear by Friday evening, Reuters reported. M23 rebels derive their name from a peace agreement they signed on March 23, 2009.
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“Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” Mr Muyisa said, adding that about 20 injured people were being treated in health facilities.
“We are in the rainy season. The ground is fragile. It was the ground that gave way while the victims were in the hole.”
Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite, is refined to produce tantalum, a heat-resistant metal used in mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines.
Rubaya produces around 15% of the world’s coltan, according to Reuters, and locals dig manually for a few dollars per day to extract the precious metal.
According to Reuters, an adviser to the governor, who was not named, said the number of confirmed dead was at least 227. The advisor spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.
The United Nations says AFC/M23 has plundered Rubaya’s riches to help fund its insurgency, backed by the government of neighbouring Rwanda, an allegation Kigali denies.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OUR READERS OFTEN ASK
UN experts on Congo have produced several reports accusing Rwanda of backing the rebels.
Their 2024 report named three territories where the Rwandan army’s intervention “extended beyond mere support for M23 operations to direct and decisive involvement”.
The heavily-armed rebels, whose stated aim is to overthrow the government in Kinshasa and ensure the safety of the Congolese Tutsi minority, captured even more mineral-rich territory in eastern Congo during a lightning advance last year, Reuters reported.
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