Sudan gold mine collapse kills 82, injures about 50

At least 82 people were killed and about 50 injured after an informal gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan province, with dozens more feared trapped under rubble, according to local officials and activists.

The collapse occurred at the al-Zara gold mine near Nuhud, an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been fighting Sudan’s military since April 2023. Rescuers and fellow miners worked through the night with limited equipment to recover victims.

A local administrator told AFP that 60 bodies had been recovered by dawn, followed by another 22 on Wednesday. “Fifty people have been injured and there is an unknown number still trapped under the rubble,” the official said on condition of anonymity, according to AFP.

Survivor Khair Al Sayyed Jabara told AFP that miners had worked through the night using basic tools to search for survivors and bodies.

“We don’t know how many more are still inside,” he said, adding that heavy machinery was needed to clear the rubble.

Sudan’s largely unregulated gold-mining industry has been plagued by dangerous working conditions and recurring mine collapses. Gold also remains an important source of revenue for parties involved in the country’s war.