A gold mine collapse in Sudan’s West Kordofan state has killed at least 60 people, with some miners believed to be missing, according to local sources and monitoring groups.
The incident occurred at the al-Zara mine in the Fouja area, located north-west of al-Nuhud town, after a series of adjoining mining shafts collapsed.
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Local sources speaking to Reuters attributed the high death toll to a lack of safety protocols and proper rescue equipment at the remote site.
They reported that most of those buried were artisanal miners working in hazardous conditions.
The Kordofan Observatory, a local monitoring group, said more than 70 miners were dead or missing after the collapse.
The group cited eyewitness accounts, noting that a survivor emerged on Tuesday, suggesting there may still be people alive underground.
Efforts to save trapped miners and recover their bodies have been hindered by unstable and sandy ground, with residents using basic tools in the absence of specialist rescue teams.
Sudan is one of the largest gold producers in Africa, with most of its output coming from dangerous artisanal operations.
In 2023, a gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s Northern State, leaving 14 miners dead and more than 20 injured, Reuters reported, citing a senior official at the state-owned Sudanese Mineral Resources Company.
The incident occurred when part of a mountainside collapsed near the Al Jabal Al Ahmar mine, around 70km from Wadi Halfa.
According to witnesses cited in a report published by Sudan’s state-run news agency SUNA, the mine collapsed as workers used heavy machinery inside mining wells.
