Rescue efforts are underway in Lomera, a gold-mining village in South Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, after several mining shafts collapsed early Sunday.
Local residents, using only basic tools and their bare hands, have managed to pull six miners out alive. One of the rescued is seriously injured.
There is still no confirmed death toll. Conflicting reports have emerged, with a local resident claiming that 12 bodies were found, while a journalist at the scene stated that none have been recovered.
Lomera has seen a rapid rise in mining activity since gold was discovered in the area late last year.
Thousands of people arrived hoping to find fortune, leading to a large number of makeshift mines and shelters being dug without proper planning.
A series of sudden landslides buried up to 15 of these informal mine shafts.
Blocked by debris and large rocks, the rescue teams are struggling to access the deeper parts of the site.
The region is currently controlled by the M23 rebel group, which seized large areas of eastern DR Congo earlier this year, including the city of Goma.
M23 has denied claims that hundreds of miners are trapped underground.
The group recently ordered a halt to mining in parts of Lomera following a site visit.
Many mining sites in the region operate without regulation or safety measures, despite supplying valuable minerals to global industries.
Ongoing conflict between armed groups and the national army has made oversight and enforcement difficult.
At the weekend, M23 and the DR Congo government signed a ceasefire agreement during talks held in Qatar.