16 September,2026 05:04 PM IST | Sudan | mid-day online correspondent
A large-scale rescue operation is difficult in West Kordofan, which is under the control of Sudan`s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Representational pic
A gold mine collapsed in southern Sudan, killing at least 60 small-scale miners, while many others remain missing and are feared dead, news agency AFP reported, quoting survivors on Wednesday.
Shafts at the Al-Zaraa gold mine near the town of El-Nahud in West Kordofan began collapsing on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, 60 bodies had been retrieved, survivors said.
"We don't know how many more are still inside," survivor Khair al-Sayyed Jabara told AFP after an overnight rescue operation carried out by fellow miners using the same rudimentary tools they rely on for mining.
"Everyone's working very hard to retrieve the bodies or any survivors, but it's difficult. We need heavy machinery to clear the rock and soil," he said.
Al-Amin Suleiman, another miner who was working near the edge of the Al-Zaraa mine on Tuesday, said the mine shafts were located close to one another, meaning the collapse of one could bring down others nearby.
"This is what happened here. So far, 60 bodies have been pulled out, but there are people still trapped underground since yesterday. I don't think they are alive," Suleiman told AFP.
A large-scale rescue operation is difficult in West Kordofan, which is under the control of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the report.
The collapse comes amid a gold rush that has intensified since war broke out in Sudan in April 2023 between the army and the RSF. The conflict has devastated the country's already fragile economy and left many people without work, pushing them towards dangerous small-scale mining.
Gold has also been a key source of funding for both sides in the conflict, alongside foreign backing.
Artisanal and small-scale mining, carried out in decommissioned mines and unofficial mining areas such as Al-Zaraa, accounts for the majority of gold extracted in Sudan.
Even before the war, artisanal mining employed more than two million people, according to industry figures.
Sudan is one of Africa's leading gold producers and recorded a five-year high of 70 tonnes of production last year, according to official figures cited in the report. However, officials say much of the country's gold is smuggled across its borders, including through Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, before reaching the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE has denied widespread reports that it provides arms to the RSF.
The war has also pushed nearly 20 million Sudanese into severe hunger, while people in western Sudan remain largely dependent on aid and local community networks for survival.
(With AFP inputs)
