16-09-2026
At least 82 people have died after a gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, while dozens of others were injured and an unknown number may still be trapped underground. Rescue teams and fellow miners worked through the night with basic tools, recovering 60 bodies by dawn and finding 22 more on Wednesday. A local administrator estimated that approximately 50 people were injured, but authorities have not determined how many miners remain missing.
The disaster underscores the severe safety risks associated with Sudan’s largely unregulated gold-mining sector. Millions of Sudanese rely on small-scale mining for their livelihoods, often working in unstable shafts without adequate protective equipment, engineering support, or modern machinery. The use of rudimentary tools and unsafe mine structures increases the likelihood that collapses will result in large numbers of deaths.
The collapse is also taking place against the backdrop of Sudan’s war, which has entered its fourth year. Gold has become an important source of revenue for both sides of the conflict. Much of Sudan’s gold is reportedly smuggled out of the country, including to the United Arab Emirates, limiting official oversight and potentially helping finance the continuing fighting.
Rescuers face a difficult race to locate and free anyone still buried. Heavy machinery is needed to reach the trapped miners, but access and emergency operations are complicated by the conflict and the broader devastation in the region. The incident highlights the intersection of unsafe labor conditions, dependence on informal mining, resource smuggling, and Sudan’s prolonged humanitarian and security crisis.
Entities: West Kordofan state, Sudan, Gold mine collapse, Rescue teams, Small-scale mining • Tone: urgent • Sentiment: negative • Intent: inform
16-09-2026
At least 70 people were killed when a gold mine collapsed at the al-Zaraa site near al-Nuhud town in Sudan’s West Kordofan state. The collapse occurred on Tuesday after several adjoining mining shafts gave way, trapping an unknown number of artisanal miners underground. The Kordofan Observatory monitoring group said residents were attempting rescues with rudimentary tools, but no specialised rescue teams had arrived. Loose, sandy soil and the lack of heavy equipment were making the operation difficult and dangerous.
Survivor Khair al-Sayyed Jabara told AFP that miners had worked through the night to reach people still trapped, while warning that the total number of casualties remained uncertain. Another miner, Amin Suleiman, said the shafts had been dug so closely together that the collapse of one caused neighbouring shafts to fall as well.
Local sources and the Sudan Doctors Network attributed the high death toll to inadequate safety procedures, a lack of rescue equipment and the absence of basic safeguards. The medical group said the search was continuing and warned that the casualty figure could rise. It condemned what it described as negligence and called for medical and logistical support, as well as an end to unregulated mining.
West Kordofan is controlled by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023. Smuggled gold is an important source of revenue for the RSF. Sudan is one of Africa’s leading gold producers, but much of its production comes from dangerous informal mining at disused or unofficial sites. The disaster highlights the risks faced by artisanal miners in areas where safety standards, oversight and emergency response capacity are limited.
Entities: Sudan, West Kordofan state, al-Zaraa gold mine, al-Nuhud town, Kordofan Observatory • Tone: urgent • Sentiment: negative • Intent: inform
16-09-2026
A collapse at the al-Zara gold mine in Nuhud, West Kordofan, Sudan, killed at least 67 people on Wednesday, according to a medical group and survivors. The mine is located in a remote region controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been fighting Sudan’s military for more than three years. Survivors said the collapse occurred late Tuesday and that many miners remained missing beneath the rubble. Search and rescue operations were continuing, but the death toll was expected to rise because people were still trapped inside the mine and heavy machinery needed to clear the debris was not readily available. Al-Amin Suliman, a miner, said the mine contained several shafts and that workers were trapped underground. Survivor Khairal-Sayed Gabara described the collapse as “massive.” Sudan is a major gold producer, but mine collapses are frequent because of poor safety standards, particularly at artisanal mining sites. The incident follows other deadly collapses in the country, including one in 2023 that killed 14 miners and another in 2021 that claimed 38 lives. The disaster occurred amid Sudan’s wider humanitarian and security crisis, with the country divided by a prolonged conflict between the Rapid Support Forces and the military. The report was published by France 24 with material from the Associated Press.
Entities: Sudan, al-Zara gold mine, Nuhud, West Kordofan province, Rapid Support Forces • Tone: urgent • Sentiment: negative • Intent: inform
16-09-2026
A collapse at the al-Zara gold mine near Nuhud in Sudan’s West Kordofan province has killed at least 67 people, according to the Sudan Doctors Network and survivors, although other accounts put the toll higher. A local administration official said 82 bodies had been recovered and that dozens of people remained missing, while the Kordofan Observatory reported at least 70 miners killed or missing. The differing figures reflect the ongoing rescue operation and the lack of reliable access to the remote site.
The mine is an informal operation employing unregulated workers and reportedly lacks basic safety equipment. The collapse began in one shaft and spread through interconnected shafts across a site more than one kilometer wide. Rescue efforts have been severely hampered because only one privately owned forklift is available, and workers lack machinery capable of removing soil and rubble from depths exceeding 30 meters. Survivors said many people remained trapped underground.
Deadly mine collapses are common in Sudan, a major gold producer where safety standards are poorly enforced. Similar incidents killed 15 miners in 2023 and 38 in 2021. The disaster occurred in a region controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with Sudan’s military since April 2023. Experts commissioned by the United Nations say gold from areas controlled by the RSF in Darfur and Kordofan is frequently smuggled out of the country, helping finance the group.
Sudan’s wider conflict has caused widespread devastation and pushed parts of the country toward famine. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data estimates that at least 59,000 people have been killed since the war began, although aid organizations say the figure significantly understates the true death toll.
Entities: al-Zara gold mine, Nuhud, West Kordofan, Sudan, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudanese military • Tone: urgent • Sentiment: negative • Intent: inform
