Dozens killed in DR Congo after bridge collapses at copper, cobalt mine

"Despite 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, said Mayonde. The miners rushing across the makeshift bridge, built to get across a flooded trench, made it collapse, he added. A report by the DRC's 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."

"The miners then rushed to the bridge, resulting in the fall that left them piled on top of each other, causing the deaths and injuries, it said. While Mayonde put the death toll at least 32, the report said at least 40 people had lost their lives. 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's legal operators,"

"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. Provincial authorities suspended operations at the site on Sunday. The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights, meanwhile, called for an independent investigation into the military's role in the deaths, citing reports of clashes between miners and soldiers. There was no immediate comment from the military."

At least 32 people were killed when a makeshift bridge collapsed at the Kalando copper and cobalt mine in Lualaba province after wildcat miners rushed the structure. Authorities had banned access because heavy rain and landslide risk made the quarry unsafe, but thousands forced their way in. Gunfire from soldiers at the site reportedly sparked panic, prompting miners to sprint toward the bridge, causing it to fail and trap people piled on top of each other. A report placed fatalities at about 40. The site has long been contested between informal miners, a cooperative, and legal operators. Operations were suspended and calls for an independent investigation were made.

Read at www.aljazeera.com