Sudan state media says 14 workers dead in gold mine collapse

KHARTOUM: Fourteen workers are dead after a gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan, state media has reported.

Sudan’s SUNA news said the workers died after the roof of the Jebel Al Ahmar gold mine, near the Egyptian border, collapsed on Thursday. Many other miners are still missing, it reported.

Several of the bodies, mostly of young men, have been recovered from the site and search efforts are ongoing, SUNA said.

A security source cited by the state agency said workers are feared to be trapped beneath the mine’s groundwater. Few further details were given.

Collapses are common in Sudan’s gold mines, where safety standards and maintenance are poor.

In 2021, 31 people were killed after a defunct gold mine collapsed in West Kordofan province.

Sudan is a major gold producer with various mines scattered across the country.