At least 60 people have been killed after a gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan province, with rescue efforts continuing as residents search for survivors and those trapped underground. Medical workers said the death toll could rise, while survivors reported that numerous people remained missing.
The shafts of the Al-Saraa gold mine in the city of Nuhud collapsed on Tuesday evening. Rescue efforts have been severely hampered by the sandy and unstable ground, according to the Kordofan Observatory. Local residents have been attempting to find those trapped using only basic tools, while the absence of heavy equipment has prevented them from digging quickly enough.
One survivor told the Associated Press that people were unable to reach those buried beneath the collapsed mine quickly because the necessary machinery was unavailable. No specialised rescue teams were reported to be involved in the operation, leaving local residents to conduct the search themselves under difficult and dangerous conditions.
The disaster has highlighted the risks faced by thousands of people working in Sudan’s informal gold-mining sector. Sudan is one of Africa’s largest gold producers, but much of its gold is extracted through dangerous small-scale mining and subsequently smuggled out of the country.
The collapse occurred in a region controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, a paramilitary organisation for which gold mining represents an important source of income. The RSF controls Kordofan amid Sudan’s continuing war, which began in April 2023 between the army of military ruler Abdel Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary forces led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The wider conflict has severely affected Sudan’s economy and living conditions. According to the United Nations, the country is facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Parts of Sudan are experiencing acute famine, while unemployment remains high.
Against that backdrop, abandoned mines and unofficial mining sites have become sources of income for many unemployed people. Residents increasingly work in disused gold mines or areas that have not been officially designated for mining, exposing them to unstable shafts and other hazards.
Mine collapses have occurred repeatedly in Sudan. In March 2023, 14 people were killed when the Jebel-Al-Ahmar gold mine collapsed. The latest disaster in Nuhud has again drawn attention to the dangers faced by workers in the country’s informal mining industry, where rescue operations can themselves be severely constrained by the absence of equipment and specialised personnel.
As residents continue searching the collapsed Al-Saraa mine, authorities and medical workers warn that the number of fatalities may increase. With numerous people still reported missing, the full scale of the disaster remains unclear.
