Twenty-four people were killed when a landslide engulfed a gold mine in DR Congo's eastern Ituri province after days of torrential rain battered the region, an official said Sunday. "Our teams on the ground .. have pulled out 24 bodies and saved two people," provincial minister of mining Dieudonne Apasa told AFP. As rescuer workers were still searching, the toll could rise, he said.

"The incident happened yesterday between 5:30 pm (1530 GMT) and 6:00 pm. They were taken by surprise by a landslide, which engulfed them," Apasa added. "The almost daily rains that have been falling recently on the region are the main cause of this landslide."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019