Just over 24 hours after the Congo mining disaster, an aircraft carrying the delegation of Minerals Minister Louis Watum Kabamba crashed on Monday at Kolwezi Airport. The plane, arriving from Kinshasa, ended up outside the runway before catching fire, raising serious concern among witnesses. The minister and all members of his delegation successfully evacuated the aircraft in time. According to his communications advisor, Isaac Nyembo, no injuries were reported.
"We are a delegation of about 20 people accompanying the minerals minister, who arrived from Kinshasa. The plane that flew us missed the landing and caught fire. We all got out before the fire spread throughout the entire plane," the communications chief for the minerals minister explained. Minister Watom Kabamba traveled to Kolwezi to closely monitor the fatal accident at the mining site where 49 people were killed.
On Saturday evening, a bridge collapsed at a semi-industrial minerals mine in southeastern Congo. The disaster killed 49 people. The gemstone mining industry employs approximately 1.5 to 2 million people in Congo.
