Kinshasa - An abandoned mine in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has collapsed, killing eight members of one family including five children, a local government official said on Monday.
The collapse occurred in a former tin mine of the Belgian-Zaire company Zaire Etain, out of use for 15 years and located in Manono in the southeastern province of Katanga.
"We recovered the body of a woman and five children from the pit," Manono's top local government official Simplice Akanis told reporters.
Two more bodies, including that of a 14-year-old girl, were also pulled out of the mine "where at least 10 people had entered".
The two survivors were reported to be seriously injured.
According to local authorities, between 150 000 and 200 000 miners are active in Manono, mostly working illegally.
A study by the United Nations Children's Fund in 2006 reported 20 000 children working in mines in mineral-rich Katanga.
Last month another abandoned mine collapsed in the province killing six people, while in August a diamond mine collapsed in the central Kasai province, killing 18 illegal miners.
The DRC has 34 percent of the world's cobalt reserves, 10 percent of its copper and rich gold, diamond and uranium resources. - Sapa-AFP