More than 200 people have been reported dead after a landslide hit coltan mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Many bodies are still buried under the mud following the tragedy near Rubaya, in the east of the country, earlier this week.
More than 15% of the world’s supply of tantalum, a rare metal extracted from coltan, comes from the region and is a key component in smartphones, as well as computers and aircraft engines.
The mines are under the control of rebel group M23. Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson of the rebel-appointed governor of North-Kivu province, said the landslide was caused by heavy rain.
“More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women,” he said. “Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” he said.
Survivors were taken to nearby health facilities or the nearest city of Goma – around 30 miles away.
A former miner at the site spoke of the dangers of repeated landslides because tunnels had been dug by hand, poorly constructed, and left without maintenance.
“People dig everywhere, without control or safety measures,” Clovis Mafare said. “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.”
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Sky News found children as young as four working in the unregulated mines in the DRC.
The country has been hit by violence between government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, for decades.
In May 2024, M23 seized Rubaya and took control of its mines.
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