31 killed in gold mine collapse in Sudan
Sudanese officials confirm the death of 31 people in a gold mine collapse in a town west of Khartoum, as four miners were killed at the same mine in January.
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Artisanal gold mining is a dangerous profession in Sudan largely due to shaky infrastructure.
At least 31 miners were killed and eight missing in Sudan on Tuesday when a gold mine collapsed, a government official confirmed.
Khaled Dahwa, the head of the state-run Mineral Resources Company in West Kordofan, said the incident occurred near Nuhud, a town about 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of Khartoum.
Dahwa told AFP that one person survived the collapse.
Another official at the company said four miners were killed at the same mine in January.
"Authorities at the time shut down the mine and installed security but a couple of months ago they left," he said.
Artisanal gold mining is a dangerous profession in Sudan largely due to shaky infrastructure.
It flourished around a decade ago in various parts of the country, with people digging the ground using excavators in hopes of unearthing gold.
About two million artisanal miners produce about 80 percent of the country's annual gold production of around 80 tonnes, according to official figures.
