HOWAID (River Nile state, Sudan), June 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 50 miners died Saturday when a traditional gold mine collapsed in the desert area of Howaid, in northern Sudan, a non-governmental organization from the northern River Nile state reported, indicating that the workers died of asphyxiation.
The state’s resistance committees said in a statement that “more than 50 miners who were working inside the mine at the time of the collapse died of asphyxiation and their bodies are being recovered,” as emergency teams did not arrive in time due to the desert location of the area and the poor condition of the roads.
They said that the delay was due to the fact that the mine is located in the Red Sea state but is under the administration of the city of Atbara, in the River Nile state, which “caused administrative confusion in the response to the accident, in addition to the lack of specialized emergency equipment.”
The Howaid area is located between the towns of Atbara and Haiya, the latter in the northeastern Red Sea state, and there are traditional gold mines, where this precious metal is extracted manually and on a small scale.
In fact, the same area was the scene of a similar accident last April, when part of a mine collapsed and caused several injuries.
However, the resistance committees said that the authorities have not implemented significant measures to improve safety in the mines and prevent this type of accident.
According to the Sudanese Ministry of Minerals, the artisanal or traditional gold mining sector is widespread throughout the country, as it is found in 14 of the 18 states and employs more than two million people, while the metal is exported to several neighboring and Arab countries. — NNN-AGENCIES