At least 31 people lost their lives in Sudan on Tuesday (December 28) when a rudimentary gold mine collapsed, AFP reported citing a government official said, adding that eight are still missing.
Khaled Dahwa, who is the head of the state-run Mineral Resources Company in West Kordofan, stated that the disaster occurred near Nuhud, a town about 500 kilometres west of Khartoum.
“Thirty-one traditional miners were killed because of a mine collapsing,” he told AFP, further informing that one person survived.
Well, this is now the first time, a similar incident had happened in January when four miners were killed at the same mine, another official informed.
“Authorities at the time shut down the mine and installed security but a couple of months ago they left,” he said.
Such incidents are likely to happen more often in the country as a result of the artisanal gold mining profession in the country. The profession is deemed dangerous due to the poor infrastructure.
It flourished around a decade ago in various parts of the country, with people digging the ground using excavators in hopes of unearthing the precious metal.
Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, has recently suffered runaway inflation and embarked on tough economic reforms, including slashing subsidies on petrol and diesel and launching a managed currency float.
(With inputs from the agencies)
