At least 50 dead after gold mine collapses in DR Congo

The president of a local NGO has said the site near Kamituga collapsed after heavy rain on Friday.

Tom Gillespie

News reporter @TomGillespie1

Friday 11 September 2020 23:03, UK

Workers are seen at a gold mine in the south of the Democratic of Congo in 2016
Image: Workers are seen at a gold mine in the south of the Democratic of Congo in 2016
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At least 50 people have been killed after a gold mine collapsed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) has said.

The artisanal gold mine is based near Kamituga in the east of the African country.

Emiliane Itongwa, president of the Initiative of Support and Social Supervision of Women, said the site collapsed at around 3pm local time after heavy rain on Friday.

The NGO president added: "Several miners were in the shaft which was covered and no one could get out. We are talking about fifty young people."

Photos on social media showed hundreds of people gathered on a hillside around the mineshaft entrance.

The mine was not located on the Kamituga gold concession owned by Canadian miner Banro Corporation, the company's chief executive said.