At least six die in DR Congo mine collapse

At least six die in DR Congo mine collapse. [File, Standard]

At least six people were killed Tuesday when a shaft collapsed at the Democratic Republic of Congo's largest coltan mine in the rebel-controlled east, witnesses told AFP.

Three women and three men died when the shaft gave way at the Rubaya mine, around 70 kilometres (45 miles) west of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Others were seriously injured.

"People died and others were seriously injured," said a witness named Daniel, reached by phone from Goma. After authorities ordered an evacuation, he said he saw two bodies on stretchers.

"They recovered six bodies: three women and three men," said another witness who declined to give his name.

Relatives flocked to the mine seeking news of family members.

Thousands of artisanal miners work in precarious conditions in Rubaya's pits, most equipped with simple shovels and rubber boots.

The huge Rubaya site, which accounts for between 15 and 30 percent of global coltan production, has been controlled by M23 rebels since April 2024.

The Rwanda-backed movement makes around $800,000 a month from the mine thanks to a $7-per-kilogramme tax on the production and sale of coltan.

The collapse occurred in an area of the mine known as the Gasasa quarry.

It is the second fatal collapse at Rubaya in recent weeks. The government said it feared at least 200 people were killed in a massive landslide there at the end of last month.

M23 has seized vast swathes of eastern DR Congo since its resurgence in 2021, exploiting a region rich in natural resources that has been ravaged by conflict for three decades.

Fighting has intensified in the Rubaya area in recent days, with a drone strike on February 24 killing the M23 military spokesman Willy Ngoma.