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10 killed in Congo mine collapse
Gold miners and an engineer talk at the entrance to a mining hole in the Luhihi gold mine in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo on May 13, 2023.
At least 10 people have been killed in a gold mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the rebel-appointed governor of South Kivu province said on Thursday.
M23 rebels have seized eastern Congo's two largest cities since January, escalating a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover of Rwanda's 1994 genocide into Congo and a struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral wealth.
In a statement released on Wednesday after talks in Qatar, the Congolese government and the M23 pledged to work towards peace, offering a glimmer of hope in the latest cycle of violence.
Douglas Dunia Masumbuko, the M23-appointed governor of South Kivu, told Reuters on Thursday that the death toll at the Luhihi mine had reached 10 "and could rise given the number of injuries".
He blamed the incident on "uncontrolled construction and poor maintenance of gold wells" in the area.
Mining accidents are common in the vast central African country, especially at small, artisanal sites.
Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi, who was governor of South Kivu before the M23 took over, confirmed that there had been a collapse at the mine, but did not give a death toll.
