<p>At least 50 people are thought to have died when an artisanal gold mine collapsed near Kamituga in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday afternoon, a local mining NGO said.</p>.<p>The cave-in occurred on the "Detroit" mine site at around 3 p.m. local (1300 GMT) following heavy rains, said Emiliane Itongwa, president of the Initiative of Support and Social Supervision of Women.</p>.<p>"Several miners were in the shaft which was covered and no one could get out. We are talking about 50 young people," Itongwa said.</p>.<p>Photos and videos on social media showed hundreds of people, some of whom could be heard wailing on a hillside around the mine-shaft entrance.</p>.<p>The mine was not located on the Kamituga gold concession owned by Canadian miner Banro Corporation, the company's chief executive said.</p>.<p>Mining accidents are common in unregulated artisanal mines in Congo, with dozens of deaths every year in mines where often ill-equipped diggers borrow deep underground in search for ore.</p>.<p>A landslide at a disused gold mine killed 16 in October last year, while 43 illegal miners died in another landslide at a copper and cobalt mine in June 2019.</p>
<p>At least 50 people are thought to have died when an artisanal gold mine collapsed near Kamituga in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday afternoon, a local mining NGO said.</p>.<p>The cave-in occurred on the "Detroit" mine site at around 3 p.m. local (1300 GMT) following heavy rains, said Emiliane Itongwa, president of the Initiative of Support and Social Supervision of Women.</p>.<p>"Several miners were in the shaft which was covered and no one could get out. We are talking about 50 young people," Itongwa said.</p>.<p>Photos and videos on social media showed hundreds of people, some of whom could be heard wailing on a hillside around the mine-shaft entrance.</p>.<p>The mine was not located on the Kamituga gold concession owned by Canadian miner Banro Corporation, the company's chief executive said.</p>.<p>Mining accidents are common in unregulated artisanal mines in Congo, with dozens of deaths every year in mines where often ill-equipped diggers borrow deep underground in search for ore.</p>.<p>A landslide at a disused gold mine killed 16 in October last year, while 43 illegal miners died in another landslide at a copper and cobalt mine in June 2019.</p>