KINSHASA — Heavy rains triggered a landslide in eastern Congo overnight that killed at least four people and left at least 20 others missing, a local official said.

The landslide happened late Sunday near the town of Kamituga in the South Kivu province, according to Deputy Mayor Alexandre Ngandu Kamundala.

About 25 people, mostly miners, were sheltering from the rains in a cabin when the landslide struck their shelter, sweeping them into a fast-flowing river below, Kamundala said.

“Five people were narrowly saved and 20 others were swept away by the waters. Four lifeless bodies were found,” Kamundala said. A search and rescue effort is said to be underway to find those who are still missing.

In 2020, at least 50 people in the same town of Kamituga died in a landslide that hit the site of a gold mine in the area.

Deadly accidents are common in Congo’s many unregulated mines, with many going unreported due to their remote locations in hills and forests.
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