Tragedy at the Kalando Mine: At Least 32 Killed in Bridge Collapse in Southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
What happened
On Saturday, at a mining site in the southeastern province of Lualaba Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a bridge collapsed at the Kalando copper-cobalt mine, leaving at least 32 people dead, according to the provincial interior minister.
The bridge, reportedly a makeshift structure erected to allow miners to cross a flooded trench at the quarry, gave way under the weight of a large crowd of artisanal miners.
A government mining agency report (SAEMAPE) said that panic was triggered when soldiers deployed at the site opened fire, causing the miners to rush toward the bridge, resulting in the collapse and a pile-up of people.
Key factors & context
Illegal access + hazardous conditions
Authorities say the site had been formally closed due to heavy rainfall and landslide risk. Despite that, large numbers of unauthorised miners — sometimes called “wildcat” diggers — forced their way into the quarry.
An estimated 10,000 or more such miners operate in the zone around Kalando, according to human rights and mining-watch organisations.
Structural vulnerability
The bridge was described as a temporary or makeshift crossing over a flooded trench — not engineered for large volumes or panicked crowds.
Heavy rains likely exacerbated conditions, including flooding, unstable terrain, and the decision to keep miners out of the site, all of which are part of the context.
Panic and military presence
The combination of armed military personnel/scouts at the site and alleged gunfire provoked panic and a rush toward the bridge, triggering the disaster.
A human rights group has already called for an independent investigation into the role of the military and whether force was used unnecessarily.
Impact and consequences
The immediate toll — at least 32 dead, with some reports suggesting up to 40 fatalities — is a stark reminder of the human cost of unsafe mining operations in the DRC’s informal sectors.
Provincial authorities have announced the suspension of the site’s operations.
Beyond the immediate tragedy, this incident highlights systemic risks: minimal infrastructure, weak safety oversight, illegal labour, and conflict zones where extractive industries overlap with military or armed actor presence.
Why this matters globally
The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt — a critical mineral for lithium-ion batteries and electric-vehicle supply chains.
Fatal incidents such as this raise questions not only of labour conditions and human rights, but also of the transparency and ethics of the global mineral-supply networks that depend on the DRC’s output.
What the future must hold
- A full and independent investigation into the circumstances of the collapse, including the role of military forces, the legality of the miners’ presence, and the structural adequacy of the bridge.
- A review of safety and access protocols at mining sites, especially those that invite or permit artisanal workings alongside commercial operations.
- Support for informal miners to transition into regulated, safer systems — helping to reduce the lethal risks that afflict artisanal mining communities.
- Improved infrastructure investment, so that crossings, trenches and passages near mining operations are engineered with safety in mind, rather than being makeshift.
Final thoughts
This tragedy at the Kalando mine is heartbreaking. Behind the numbers are lives cut short, families shattered, and communities shaken. While the bridge collapse may look like a discrete event, it is symptomatic of deeper systemic failures: unsafe working environments, lack of regulatory compliance, economic desperation, and the overlap of extractive industries with armed or state actors.