{"id":2365,"date":"2025-11-17T02:48:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T02:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2365"},"modified":"2025-11-17T02:48:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T02:48:06","slug":"dozens-killed-in-dr-congo-after-bridge-collapses-at-copper-cobalt-mine-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2365","title":{"rendered":"Dozens killed in DR Congo after bridge collapses at copper, cobalt mine | News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Deaths came after miners rushed a makeshift bridge at the Kalando mine in southeastern Lualaba province, official says.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 17 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">17 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>At least 32 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to officials, after a bridge at a copper and cobalt mine collapsed due to overcrowding.<\/p>\n<p>The incident occurred at the Kalando mine in southeastern Lualaba province on Saturday, the province\u2019s interior minister, Roy Kaumbe Mayonde, said on Sunday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cDespite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry,\u201d said Mayonde.<\/p>\n<p>The miners rushing across the makeshift bridge, built to get across a flooded trench, made it collapse, he added.<\/p>\n<p>A report by the DRC\u2019s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service, or SAEMAPE, said the gunfire from soldiers at the site had sparked panic among the miners.<\/p>\n<p>The miners then rushed to the bridge, resulting in the fall that left them \u201cpiled on top of each other, causing the deaths and injuries\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n<p>While Mayonde put the death toll at least 32, the report said at least 40 people had lost their lives.<\/p>\n<p>The report said the mine had been at the heart of a longstanding dispute between the wildcat miners, a cooperative that was meant to organise digging there, and the site\u2019s legal operators, who were said to have Chinese involvement.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur Kabulo, the provincial coordinator for the National Human Rights Commission, told the AFP news agency that more than 10,000 wildcat miners operated at Kalando.<\/p>\n<p>Provincial authorities suspended operations at the site on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights, meanwhile, called for an independent investigation into the military\u2019s role in the deaths, citing reports of clashes between miners and soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>There was no immediate comment from the military.<\/p>\n<p>The DRC is the world\u2019s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other products, with Chinese companies controlling 80 percent of the production in the central African country.<\/p>\n<p>Accusations of child labour, unsafe conditions, and corruption have long plagued the country\u2019s cobalt mining industry.<\/p>\n<p>The DRC\u2019s mineral wealth has also been at the heart of a conflict that has ravaged the country\u2019s east for more than three decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deaths came after miners rushed a makeshift bridge at the Kalando mine in southeastern Lualaba province, official says. Published On 17 Nov 202517 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share At least 32 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to officials, after a bridge [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}