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DR CONGO-MINE-KILLING
DR Congo mine collapse kills at least 32
BUKAVU, DR Congo, Oct 12, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – At least 32 bodies of
illegal miners were found on Thursday after the collapse of an artisanal gold
mine on October 4 in South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), according to local sources.
A statement made late Thursday by Deogratias Musafiri, president of the
civil society of Fizi in the province of South Kivu, said that the
provisional record shows 32 people were dead and removed from the well on
Thursday afternoon.
Musafiri said that the collapse followed heavy rains that hit the
territory of Misisi and caused flooding on the night of October 4.
Since the collapse of the mine, the search team has struggled to conduct
proper search work due to lack of resources. The recovery of the 32 bodies
was said to be due to money support for search operation from a close
associate of the nation’s president, Joseph Kabila.
According to sources on site, several bodies are still buried more than 70
meters underground.
Authorities on site blame lack of maintenance of the well as a major cause
for the mine’s collapse. Many Congolese artisanal miners work in mines that
do not respect the conditions and safety standards.
Authorities in South Kivu Province decommissioned several artisanal mines
in some areas of South Kivu province in 2017 after a series of incidents
recorded at the mines. The province is also among the provinces that record
the most landslides during rainy seasons.
BSS/XINHUA/SSS/1945 hrs