Gold mine collapses in Sudan, at least 67 dead

A gold mine has collapsed in South Sudan, killing at least 67 miners, according to two survivors who spoke to AFP; many others are missing and are feared to have died under the rubble. The tunnels at the Al-Zaraa mine, near the town of El-Nahud in West Kordofan, began to collapse on Tuesday 15 September, and over the following hours, 60 bodies had been recovered. “We don’t know how many others are still inside,” said one of the survivors, Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, at the end of a rescue operation that lasted all night.

According to various local media outlets, including Radio Dabanga, the collapse is believed to have occurred in the mine shafts of the Al-Zar’a mine, in the town of Al-Nuhud, in West Kordofan. “We don’t know how many others are still inside,” one of the survivors, Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, told AFP, adding that they only have the same rudimentary tools used for mining at their disposal. “Everyone is working hard to recover the bodies or any survivors, but it’s difficult. We need heavy machinery to remove the rock and earth,” they said.

Area controlled by the Rapid Support Forces

Sudan is one of Africa’s leading gold producers, but the vast majority of its gold is extracted using dangerous artisanal mining techniques and subsequently smuggled out of the country. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary forces of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the war efforts of both sides have been largely funded by the gold industry, as well as by foreign backers, and many unemployed people have embarked on a dangerous gold rush.

According to local sources, the high number of casualties at that remote site is due to the lack of safety procedures or rescue equipment in the makeshift pits. Western Kordofan is under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group for which gold mining is a key source of income.