Gold mine collapse kills at least 70 people in Sudan’s West Kordofan

Dozens of artisanal miners have been killed, and many remain trapped after a series of adjoining mining shafts collapsed.

Sudanese men pan for gold [File: Ashraf Shazly/AFP]

At least 70 people have been killed after a gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan state.

Dozens of artisanal miners were killed and a number of them were trapped after a series of adjoining mining shafts collapsed at al-Zaraa mine, near al-Nuhud town, on Tuesday, the Kordofan Observatory monitoring group said on Wednesday.

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The group added that no specialised rescue teams had joined the rescue effort and residents with rudimentary tools were struggling to pull survivors out in loose and sandy soil.

A source in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controls the area, told the AFP news agency that at least 82 people were killed and another 50 wounded. “There is an unknown number of people still trapped under the rubble and rescue efforts are being conducted with rudimentary methods,” the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said.

Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, who survived the incident, told AFP on Wednesday that he and fellow miners had dug throughout the night using their tools to reach survivors, adding that heavy equipment was needed.

“We don’t know how many more are still inside,” he said.

Survivors question absence of safety procedures

Another miner, Amin Suleiman, said the shafts were packed so closely that each one pulled down those beside it when it collapsed.

Local sources told the Reuters news agency that the high death toll was due to ⁠a lack of safety procedures and rescue equipment.

Sudan Doctors Network, a Khartoum-based medical group, said search efforts were ongoing and the casualty figure could rise, adding that the site was missing basic safeguards for workers.

The group condemned the “negligence” it said put miners’ lives at serious risk.

West Kordofan is held by the paramilitary RSF, which has been fighting Sudan’s army since April 2023. Smuggled gold has been a key source of revenue for the group.

“Mining activities in areas under RSF control, in the absence of safety standards and adequate protection and rescue equipment, turn mining into a direct threat to the lives of civilians,” it said in a statement.

It called for the search to continue and for medical and logistical help to be provided, and urged those in control of the area to end unregulated mining.

Sudan ranks among Africa’s leading gold producers , and most of its yellow metal comes from dangerous, informal mining at disused or unofficial sites.

一系列相邻矿井坍塌，导致数十名个体矿工丧生，许多人仍被困其中。

苏丹男子淘金 [图片：Ashraf Shazly/AFP]

苏丹西科尔多凡州一座金矿坍塌，造成至少70人死亡。

科尔多凡观察站监测小组周三表示，周二，在努胡德镇附近的扎拉矿，一系列相邻的矿井发生坍塌，造成数十名手工矿工死亡，多人被困。

联合国机构警告：苏丹三大援助网络之一面临崩溃风险

（共3份名单中的第2份）医疗组织称，苏丹科尔多凡州遭叛军袭击，数十人丧生

列表 3/3：苏丹南科尔多凡州至少五人在反叛组织的袭击中丧生

该组织补充说，没有专业的救援队参与救援行动，居民们只能依靠简陋的工具，在松软的沙土中艰难地将幸存者拉出来。

负责控制该地区的准军事快速支援部队（RSF）的一名消息人士告诉法新社，至少有82人死亡，另有50人受伤。“仍有数量不明的人被困在废墟下，救援工作只能使用一些简陋的方法进行，”这位因未获授权接受媒体采访而要求匿名的消息人士说。

事故幸存者海尔·赛义德·贾巴拉周三告诉法新社，他和矿工同伴们连夜用工具挖掘，试图找到幸存者，并补充说需要重型设备。

“我们不知道里面还有多少人，”他说。

幸存者质疑安全措施的缺失。

另一位矿工阿明·苏莱曼说，矿井排列得非常紧密，以至于任何一个矿井坍塌时都会把旁边的矿井也拉下来。

当地消息人士告诉路透社，死亡人数居高不下是由于缺乏安全程序和救援设备。

总部位于喀土穆的医疗组织“苏丹医生网络”表示，搜救工作仍在进行中，伤亡人数可能还会上升，并补充说，该工地缺乏​​对工人的基本安全保障。

该组织谴责了这一“疏忽”，称其严重危及了矿工的生命。

西科尔多凡由准军事组织快速支援部队（RSF）控制，该组织自 2023 年 4 月以来一直在与苏丹军队作战。走私黄金一直是该组织的主要收入来源。

声明称：“在快速支援部队控制区内，由于缺乏安全标准和足够的防护及救援设备，采矿活动对平民生命构成直接威胁。”

声明呼吁继续搜寻，并提供医疗和后勤援助，并敦促该地区的控制者停止无序采矿。

苏丹是非洲主要的黄金生产国之一，但其大部分黄金都来自废弃或非官方地点的危险的非正规采矿活动。