Official: At least 60 dead in Congo gold mine after landslide in country’s remote northeast

KINSHASA, Congo – An official in northeast Congo says at least 60 people are dead following a landslide at a gold mine in a remote area.

Local administrator Faustin Drakana Kananga told The Associated Press on Thursday that it took crews four days to get to the mine following Monday’s accident in Pangoyi. The area is controlled by members of a militia and located in a dense jungle.

Kananga said the miners were in an area about 100 metres (yards) below the surface at the time of the accident.

Congo, a vast nation in central Africa, is mired in poverty despite enormous mineral riches following decades of dictatorship and war. Many Congolese try to eke out a living through small-scale mining though the practice remains dangerous and unregulated.