Sudan gold mine collapse leaves 82 dead in West Kordofan
FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / Editorial RF At least 82 people have been killed after an informal gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, with dozens more still missing, according to several news agencies, citing local officials.
Rescue efforts are continuing at the al-Zara mine near the town of Nuhud, an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The collapse began in one shaft on Sunday and spread to interconnected tunnels.
Rescuers recovered 82 bodies by Wednesday afternoon, Suleiman Abu Hmeida, a member of Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, told AP. “But dozens remain unaccounted for,” he said.
The Emergency Response Rooms is a grassroots network that provides assistance to communities and monitors developments during Sudan’s ongoing conflict. A local administration official separately confirmed the same death toll, according to AP.
Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army (Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This occurred after months of tension between their commanders, army generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ‘Hemedti’, respectively, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.
Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi–US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. Sudanese officials have named Colombians and Ukrainians among mercenaries backing the RSF against the army. Officials have also accused Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates of involvement and recently claimed the European Union has an “incomplete understanding of the complex situation” in the country.
Khartoum has also accused authorities in neighboring Kenya of backing the RSF and has broken ties with the East African grouping IGAD amid mistrust of regional mediation. In July, TASIS, a political coalition aligned with the paramilitary, announced the formation of a rival government months after its members signed a charter in Nairobi. It named Gen. Dagalo as chairman of a 15-member presidential council, a move rejected by the UN and AU.
READ MORE: A land of mass graves and mercenaries – Can this genocide be stopped? The Sudan Doctors Network earlier reported 67 recovered bodies and said the death toll could rise as the search continues. The medical group said the informal mine employed unregulated workers and lacked basic safety and protective measures.
“The Network emphasizes that mining activities in areas under RSF control, in the absence of safety standards and adequate protection and rescue equipment, turn mining into a direct threat to the lives of civilians,” they said.
The Kordofan Observatory monitoring group said the mining area extends for more than a kilometer over fragile sandy soil.
Gold is one of Sudan’s most valuable commodities, with official figures showing gold exports generating more than $1.5 billion in the first ten months of 2024, despite the ongoing conflict. The country produced 70 tons of gold in 2025, according to the figures from the state-owned the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC).
Deadly mine collapses have occurred elsewhere in Africa. In August, more than 100 people were reported killed when an artisanal gold mine collapsed in Zamboye in the Central African Republic, near the border with Cameroon. Several underground tunnels caved in while miners were working below ground.
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