Eight miners dead in South Darfur shaft collapse

At least eight artisanal miners were killed in a mine shaft collapse at the Agbash-Khatt mine in El Radoom locality in South Darfur on Monday evening. Frantic efforts continue to rescue survivors in earth destabilised by heavy rains.

A senior miner told Radio Dabanga that the collapse on Monday follows several similar recent shaft collapsed as the terrain has become destabilised by recent heavy rainfall. He says that they were able to rescue four miners and take them to the hospital after they sustained varying injuries. “We have to dig by hand and using primitive tools to rescue them, because any mechanical means would risk furth injury and collapse.

He said that the mine has previously witnessed similar collapses of mine shafts, and calling for providing guidance to local miners to avoid collapses, urging them to use safety equipment such as masks, gloves, and plastic boots.

The danger of mining wells increases in the fall due to floods and heavy rains in the region, and miners have previously requested an ambulance to be provided in the mine in case they were injured. The Agbash mine is approximately 350 km south of the state capital, Nyala.

Before the war, there were more than 40,000 gold mining sites in Sudan with about 60 gold processing companies operating in 13 states.