The accident in the makeshift mine occurred on Friday in the town of Kamituga, in South Kivu province.
Provincial governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi deplored "the tragic deaths of 50 people, most of them young".
However, Kamituga mayor Alexandre Bundya said "we are not yet sure of the exact number" of victims. A local resident who was at the scene, Jean Nondo, told AFP that "according to witnesses, there are more than 50 dead. There is only one survivor."
He said a river close to the mine had flooded after torrential rain.
Comment: While former NASA chief scientist Abdalati is wrong about a number of things, it is obvious to anyone paying attention that there are great changes afoot on our planet. And so for a more compelling answer as to what's driving these changes and that also explains the increase in extreme and unusual events, across the board, from sinkholes; extreme temperature swings; global cooling; the meandering jet stream and stalling gulf stream; the unusual electrical activity in our skies; the rise in fireballs and comets; the increase in volcanic and seismic events - and much more - check out Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk's book Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection, as well as the following SOTT podcasts: