22 January
Fourteen miners were killed on Monday in a cassiterite mine accident in Mwulire sector, Rwamagana district, eastern Rwanda, district mayor Radjab Mbonyumuvunyi told Xinhua over the phone.
The victims, including seven males and seven females, had gone about usual duties inside the mine, when a weak cliff caved in and collapsed, trapping them underground, Mbonyumuvunyi said.
The mining cliff had been weakened by heavy rains, he said.
A police rescue team has managed to pull out the dead bodies from underground, according to the mayor.
Last March, two Rwandan miners were killed when a cliff collapsed in Nyamasheke district in western Rwanda.
Xinhua
