"A former miner at the site told The Associated Press there have been repeated landslides because the tunnels are dug by hand, poorly constructed, and left without maintenance. "People dig everywhere, without control or safety measures. In a single pit, there can be as many as 500 miners, and because the tunnels run parallel, one collapse can affect many pits at once," Clovis Mafare said."
"He said the landslide was caused by heavy rains. "For now, there are more than 200 dead, some of whom are still in the mud and have not yet been recovered," Muyisa said. He added that several others were injured and taken to three health facilities in the town of Rubaya, while ambulances were expected to transfer the wounded Saturday to Goma, the nearest city around 30 miles away."
"Congo's government in a statement on X expressed solidarity with the victims' families and accused the rebels of illegally and unsafely exploiting the region's natural resources. Rubaya lies in the heart of eastern Congo, a mineral-rich part of the Central African nation which for decades has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis."
A landslide collapsed several pits at the Rubaya coltan mines in eastern North Kivu, killing at least 200 people and leaving others injured or still trapped. Heavy rains caused the collapse, according to rebel authorities who control the site. Injured miners were taken to three health facilities in Rubaya and were to be transferred to Goma. The rebel-appointed governor halted artisanal mining and ordered relocation of nearby residents. The Congolese government accused rebels of illegal and unsafe resource exploitation. Artisanal tunnels are hand-dug, poorly constructed, and unmaintained, with as many as 500 miners per pit, increasing the risk of cascading collapses.
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