At least 24 have been killed after a landslide engulfed a gold mine in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Eastern Ituri province after days of torrential rain battered the region, an official said Sunday.
“Our teams on the ground have pulled out 24 bodies and saved two people,” provincial Minister of Mining, Dieudonne Apasa, told AFP.
“The incident happened yesterday between 5:30pm (1530 GMT) and 6:00pm. They were taken by surprise by a landslide, which engulfed them,” Apasa added.
The gold panners were working at Ndiyo mine around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Watsa, the main town in the Watsa territory of Upper-Uele province, when the incident happened according to the AFP.
Accidents in DR Congo’s makeshift mines are a common occurrence and are often deadly.
The miners sell what they find to local traders, who sell it on to large foreign companies.
