Gold mine collapses in Sudan: At least 82 workers killed, many more feared trapped

(Representative image: Google Earth) The mine is located to the north-west of Al-Nuhud town in Sudan's West Kordofan. At least 82 people have been killed since a gold mine collapsed at Al-Nuhud town in Sudan's West Kordofan on Sunday, with many more still missing and feared dead beneath the rubble.According to locals cited by the Reuters and AFP news agencies, the high death toll at tht Al-Zaraa mine was due to the the absence of safety procedures or rescue equipment at the makeshift wells, when the shafts collapsed."The shafts here are all close together, if one collapses, it brings down all the ones next to it", said Al-Amin Suleiman, a miner."There are people still trapped underground since yesterday. I don't think they are alive", he added.One of the survivors, Khair al-Sayyed Jabara, told AFP that an all-night rescue operation was carried out by his fellow miners using the same rudimentary tools they use to mine."We don't know how many more are still inside," he said. "Everyone's working very hard to retrieve the bodies or any survivors, but it's difficult. We need heavy machinery to clear the rock and soil."The West Kordofan, along with the neighbouring Darfur region, is unde...