Harsh conditions killing gold miners

A medical source from Jebel ‘Amer, in North Darfur said that a large number of gold miners have been died due to harsh conditions inside the mines, Radio Dabanga has learned on Tuesday, 16 October. He explained that diseases such as measles, diarrhea, fever, abdominal pains and typhoid are increasingly spreading among gold miners and that several have died already.The source also explained that a lack of latrines in the workplace forces gold explorers to defecate in the open. Scarcity of water also forces the workers to drink water from surrounding valleys and creeks, the medical source pointed out. He attributed the harsh conditions to the overcrowding in gold mines, as more than 3.000 miners work in one place at the same time. Some miners work deep inside the wells, the source continued, saying that workers are exposed to dust, pollution and toxic waste caused by the indiscriminate use of metals for gold excavation. The medical source called upon the local and state health authorities of North Darfur to dig latrines and to provide gold miners water and sanitation to avoid an epidemic from breaking out.