Miracle in the Mines: Congolese Miners Trapped in Collapse Emerge Unharmed in Viral Video

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the richest countries in natural resources, and mining plays a serious role in its economy. However, the mining industry in the DRC has a long history of accidents that have had a devastating impact on the lives of workers, with many resulting in serious injuries or fatalities.

A video of nine Congolese miners emerging from a collapsed gold mine and tumbling down a steep slope to safety has gone viral in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This rare occurrence is a happy ending to an all-too-common story in a country where mining accidents are frequent, particularly in small artisanal sites such as the one that collapsed in Nyange, South Kivu province, during heavy rainfall on Saturday.

The video shows a man frantically digging with a spade on the side of a slope of rubble, while a group of men watch in a large circle around him. Suddenly, a miner appears from the rubble and slides down the slope as onlookers break out in cheers of surprise and joy.

The rescuer then switches to digging through the rubble with his bare hands, and another miner emerges, followed by seven others in the next two minutes.

"We quickly got people working to clear the rubble that was blocking the entrance. It was on Saturday morning ... that they managed to save these nine souls," stated Crispin Kayuka, a local civil society representative, to the media.

Traditional mining in the DRC is often informal and conducted by small-scale artisanal miners, who use basic tools and techniques to extract minerals such as gold, cobalt, tin, and coltan. These miners typically work in hazardous conditions, with little or no safety equipment, training, or oversight.

Accidents in traditional mining in the DRC are common and can have severe consequences. The most common types of accidents include cave-ins, landslides, and collapses of mine shafts or tunnels. Workers may also be exposed to toxic chemicals or gases, or suffer from heat exhaustion or dehydration.

The exact number of traditional mining accidents in the DRC is difficult to determine, as many of these operations are informal and unregulated. However, estimates suggest that thousands of miners are injured or killed in mining accidents every year.

Earlier in the month, at least two miners died in a similar incident at a nearby informal mining site in the eastern DRC.