At least 32 people have died after a bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine in Mulondo, Lualaba province, southeastern Congo, officials confirmed on Sunday.
Interior Minister Roy Kaumba Mayonde said the incident occurred on Saturday as illegal miners forced their way into the quarry despite a ban triggered by heavy rains and high landslide risks.
According to a report from the government mining agency SAEMAPE, gunfire from soldiers sparked panic among the miners crowding the bridge, causing the structure to give way. Victims were reportedly “piled on top of each other,” with some estimates putting the death toll at no fewer than 40.
The Kalando mine has long been a hotspot of conflict between informal miners, the overseeing cooperative, and the legal operators of the site.
Congo, the world’s top producer of cobalt—a key component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and electronics—is dominated by Chinese companies, and the sector has been plagued by unsafe working conditions, corruption, and allegations of child labour.
The tragedy comes amid ongoing violence in eastern Congo, where clashes between government forces and armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, have intensified insecurity and deepened the humanitarian crisis in the mineral-rich region.