More than 60 people died this week when a quarry collapsed in an abandoned mine in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Radio Okapi reported late on Wednesday.
The UN-sponsored radio said the accident happened on Monday at Pangoy, 120 kilometres from Manbasa, as illegal miners rushed to be the first in the bottom of the pit. The sides collapsed, burying them all.
Local administrator Faustin Drakana Kananga told The Associated Press on Thursday that it took crews four days to get to the mine following Monday's accident in Pangoyi. The area is controlled by members of a militia and located in a dense jungle.
The local government chief confirmed the number of dead, the radio said. He added that the mine had been abandoned after clashes between the regular army and a militia headed up by Paul Sadala, alias Morgan.
Kananga said the miners were in an area about 100 meters (yards) below the surface at the time of the accident.
Congo, a vast nation in central Africa, is mired in poverty despite enormous mineral riches following decades of dictatorship and war. Many Congolese try to eke out a living through small-scale mining though the practice remains dangerous and unregulated.
Similar accidents are all too common in the east of this enormous nation, which is rich in minerals such as coltan, used in the making of electronic gadgets, and cassiterite, or tin ore.
Thursday 16 August 2012
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10827466
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