Mine disaster in eastern Congo kills more than 200

More than 200 people are feared dead after a coltan mine collapsed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to local officials and media reports.

The incident happened on Wednesday at the Rubaya coltan mine, about 60 kilometres northwest of Goma, the capital of North Kivu. The exact number of casualties is still not known.

Speaking to Reuters, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson for the rebel-appointed provincial governor, said the landslide killed more than 200 people. Victims include miners, children and women who were at a nearby market. He added that around 20 injured people are receiving treatment at health centres.

Muyisa said heavy rain weakened the ground during the rainy season, causing it to collapse while people were working inside the mine.

Eraston Bahati Musanga, the provincial governor appointed by the M23 rebel group, told AFP that some bodies have been recovered, but did not give an exact number. An adviser to the governor also told Reuters that the death toll could be more than 200, speaking anonymously as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

AFP said it could not independently confirm the number of dead as of Friday evening.

An artisanal miner, Franck Bolingo, told AFP that many people may still be trapped underground. He said heavy rain fell before the landslide, burying some people alive while others remain stuck inside the mine shafts.

The Rubaya mine produces around 15 percent of the world’s coltan, which is used to make tantalum, a metal needed for mobile phones, computers, aircraft parts and gas turbines. Local miners work there by hand and earn only a few dollars a day.

The mine has been under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group since 2024. The group has taken over large mineral-rich areas in eastern Congo and aims to overthrow the government in the capital, Kinshasa.

The United Nations has accused M23 of looting minerals from Rubaya to fund its rebellion. Rwanda has denied supporting the group.

Despite Congo’s vast mineral wealth, more than 70 percent of its population lives on less than $2.15 a day.