In conflict-ravaged Sudan, already grappling with deep starvation and widespread civil warfare, a second catastrophic mining disaster has struck within the span of a single week. The collapse took place late Saturday night at an unauthorized gold mining site in the remote Oni area of Red Sea state, situated in northeastern Sudan. The sudden cave-in of the mine's central tunnel claimed the lives of at least 11 miners on the spot, while more than 30 other workers sustained serious injuries. Because several additional workers are feared trapped beneath the massive mounds of rubble, emergency rescue teams have been carrying out continuous operations to reach any survivors.
Midnight Collapse in the Remote Oni Region
The tragedy unfolded while dozens of laborers were actively working deep inside the underground structure. Local eyewitness Abdelhay Kharif Abakar recounted that the main shaft of the mine abruptly gave way late on Saturday night, leaving the miners working below with virtually no time to escape to safety. Following the structural failure, nearby residents and emergency responders scrambled to begin digging through the debris to pull out trapped survivors and recover victims. The injured were transferred to regional medical facilities, with multiple laborers reported to be in critical condition.
Follows a Tragic Cave-in That Claimed 82 Lives Days Earlier
Unauthorized extraction sites operating without basic structural reinforcement or oversight have turned into lethal hazards for impoverished laborers across Sudan. The disaster in Red Sea state comes on the heels of another massive tragedy on September 16, when a chain of gold mines collapsed in the western section of the country. That earlier catastrophe resulted in the deaths of at least 82 workers in a territory controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The recurrence of such large-scale accidents within just a few days highlights the complete absence of workplace protections in the country's unregulated gold mining belt.
Conflict and Famine Driving Impoverished Workers Underground
For more than three years, Sudan has been consumed by a destructive civil war pitting the national military against paramilitary forces. The relentless fighting has severely disrupted agriculture, trade, and state institutions, pushing extensive regions of the nation to the brink of acute famine and starvation. Deprived of standard livelihoods and coping with extreme poverty, hundreds of thousands of civilians are driven to risk their lives inside perilous, makeshift gold pits simply to secure daily food.
Thousands of small-scale, unregulated mines currently operate across the country without any safety protocols, emergency escape passages, or regular engineering inspections. The ongoing hostilities and the collapse of administrative governance have allowed this illicit extraction network to expand unchecked, resulting in recurrent lethal cave-ins. Relief personnel remain on site in Oni, working through heavy piles of earth to locate those still unaccounted for beneath the shaft.
