Lubumbashi - Fifteen people have suffocated to death while digging in an illegal mine in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the problem of illicit mining is widespread, an official said on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday in Kolwezi in the mineral-rich province of Katanga, where scores of impoverished illegal miners risk their lives in search of minerals including copper and cobalt.
"Fifteen artisanal miners died yesterday in a tunnel in Kolwezi," Mayor Deoda Kapenda told AFP.
"The miners died by suffocation in a tunnel more than 20m deep. It was not a landslide."
The victims also bore burn marks of unclear origin, he said.
Despite its enormous natural resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the world's least developed countries.