Nambuangongo, Angola, May 27, 2026 (Lusa) – Dozens of young Angolan villagers set off in the early hours of Saturday in search of gold and a better future, but 28 did not return.

They were buried in the mine where they sought a livelihood to sustain their dreams, which instead became a nightmare. On Tuesday, they returned to the earth.

Consternation, tears, resignation, and intense grief fill the victims' home villages as families prepare for funerals.

The tragedy took place in the municipality of Nambuangongo, a name echoing memories of death and suffering. Once the stage for the armed insurrection that marked the beginning of the colonial war, the area is now the scene of a new struggle against poverty and misery.

"The only job we have is precisely this, to improve our living conditions," Sebastião Moisés Tandala from the Kifula neighbourhood said, explaining what drives so many to face such risks and, often, find death.

Twelve of the 28 victims came from this neighbourhood and were relatives of Paulo Miranda de Sousa. Currently in shock, Sousa said that Nambuangongo had never witnessed anything like this.

"The Nambuangongo area is historically very strong, especially in war stories," but this case is unprecedented, he said.

"Even at that time, ambushes and attacks never caused a casualty rate of more than ten national citizens. We have never had such a record. This truly shocks the community," he told Lusa.

"We do not have guaranteed employment, many of us studied and finished [our education], but we have no jobs. Here it is just the machete, we take up the machete to farm to ensure survival, and when this mineral resource appeared, we wanted to exploit it," Tandala said, mourning the "very great tragedy" that cost his "brothers'" lives.

"It is a very great pain," he said, adding that every household lost someone.

Kifula villagers dug 12 graves for the young men who, ignoring the dangers, walked for hours to the village of Balacende, where they descended into the Missaxi artisanal mine about 30 kilometres away.

Weakened by excavation and intense mining activity, the mine ultimately collapsed, trapping the young miners inside.

The gold rush began when a young local man found 20 to 25 grams of gold, earning him 2.6 million kwanzas (about €2,500), a fortune in these parts.

"Since it was something unprecedented for a local youth to make 2 million kwanzas in one go, it sparked rumours and incited other young people to head to the mine area," Paulo Miranda de Sousa said. Increasingly more young people flocked to the site following the incident.

This attraction remains understandable to a certain extent.

"Producing a banana crop takes months, even years. Cassava (tuberous edible plant) production to make flour takes years. However, illegal gold mining is a matter of minutes, of hours. You go with nothing and leave with something," he said.

This rush has a dark side, and the grieving family head said that people even took the opportunity to steal gravel while helping to recover bodies during the rescue.

"Right at that moment, in the heat of pulling people out, there were individuals who wanted to help the families, but there were also people taking advantage to steal the gravel itself, even with the bodies present," he said.

Foreign citizens from other African countries are allegedly behind this "rush", Sousa said. These individuals "receive the gold at a very low price, exploiting the local youth and taking the wealth to other regions," he said.

Only an illusion remains, he pointed out, urging the government to organise mining cooperatives "so that these young people stop entering these mines illegally and riskily."

Canacassala Commune Administrator Isabel Marcelino regretted that many young people continue to refuse to listen despite the Bengo provincial government's awareness campaigns.

"Some abandon school and dedicate themselves to illegal mining for survival. And these are the results," she said.

The authorities intend to promote artisanal cooperatives to organise the miners, maintaining government control and oversight of the mines, she told Lusa. The initiative aims to create wealth and employment for communities while minimising risks.

She believes there are no more buried victims beyond the 28 identified individuals, as families have closely monitored the body recovery process.

Addressing the difficulty in stopping illegal mining, she said, "It is like having a thief in the house; they often go there in the dead of night."

The Soba (traditional chief) of Canacassala, Henriques Manuel, lost two sons-in-law, a brother, and a nephew in the mine. He says that nobody knew about these practices, explaining that the prospect of quick earnings seduced the victims, who rely almost exclusively on farming.

"It is not usual, even for some who died it was not usual for them, it was the first time," he told Lusa. "They went because they were told it [the gold] was coming out well, and they went to risk their lives."

"Before we didn't do [artisanal mining], we always dedicated ourselves to the life of a peasant," he said.

Bengo province produces large quantities of mineral resources and high-quality agricultural goods.

The availability of water and fertile land, and the province's proximity to Luanda, Angola's main market hub, make Bengo one of the provinces with the greatest agricultural potential. However, young people now prefer the glitter of gold to the hard life of cultivating bananas and cassava.

Joy Carlito, a Canacassala native who lost two brothers in the early hours of Saturday, recalls word-of-mouth rumours that the mine "was bursting with gold." This speculation attracted local youth to the site.

"They just arrived and went in," ready to work, he said. Some miners who arrived at 6 a.m. "found it collapsed with our brothers inside the tunnel." These early arrivals served as the first rescuers and saved four miners, who are now out of danger.

He agrees that the attraction stems from a lack of employment and prospects. Young people who refuse to resign themselves to peasant farming arm themselves with pickaxes and hoes, preferring to risk their luck.

Some find gold and encounter buyers directly at the mine, allowing them to purchase motorbikes, build houses, "and support their family", while others lose their lives.

Vans loaded with relatives and friends wishing to say goodbye to their loved ones are arriving in the neighbourhoods. Chairs are gathered, and large pots of food are served to those arriving for the wake, in accordance with Angolan tradition.

The Bengo provincial government has provided food aid and supplied the coffins, which were expected to arrive on Tuesday, for the collective funerals. The funeral procession will depart from Caxito, the provincial capital.

Dozens of women, scattered across the ground, mourn silently next to a house, under a palm-leaf shelter that protects them from the hot sun. Their dignified and sad gazes appear heavy from much weeping and numerous deaths.

Church mothers, wearing their colourful clothes, echo hymns that honour the dead and comfort the hearts of those left behind.

RCR/RYOL // ADB.

Lusa