60 Killed In Sudan Gold Mine Collapse, Several Missing

A gold mine collapsed in southern Sudan, killing at least 60 small-scale miners, two survivors told AFP on Wednesday, while many more are missing and feared dead under the rubble.

Shafts began collapsing in the Al-Zaraa mine near the town of El-Nahud in West Kordofan on Tuesday, and by the following morning 60 bodies had been retrieved.

"We don't know how many more are still inside," one of the survivors, Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, told AFP after an all-night rescue operation with fellow miners, using the same rudimentary tools they use to mine.

"Everyone's working very hard to retrieve the bodies or any survivors, but it's difficult. We need heavy machinery to clear the rock and soil."

Since war erupted in April 2023 between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the war efforts of both sides have been largely funded by the gold industry, in addition to foreign backers.

The conflict has devastated Sudan's already fragile economy and left much of the country out of work, pushing many into a dangerous gold rush.

Artisanal and small-scale mining, which takes place in unofficial zones or decommissioned mines, accounts for the majority of gold extracted.

Al-Amin Suleiman, another miner who was working at the rim of Al-Zaraa on Tuesday, told AFP that "the shafts here are all close together, if one collapses, it brings down all the ones next to it".

"This is what happened here. So far, 60 bodies have been pulled out but there are people still trapped underground since yesterday. I don't think they are alive."

Sudan is suffering the world's largest hunger and displacement crises, with nearly 20 million people facing crisis levels of hunger.

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