At least 200 people were killed earlier this week when heavy rains triggered a series of catastrophic landslides at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The site has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since 2024.
A spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, said the victims include “miners, children and market women”.
He added that at least 20 injured people are being treated, some in local health facilities, while others will be transferred to Goma, the nearest city around 50 kilometres away.
With search and rescue operations still continuing, officials say the death toll is expected to rise.
Muyisa said the governor has temporarily halted artisanal mining on the site and ordered the relocation of residents who had built shelters near the mine.
The United Nations says M23 has plundered the mine’s riches to help fund its insurgency
Rubaya lies in the heart of mineral-rich eastern DRC which for decades has been ripped apart by violence between government forces and different armed groups.
