AT LEAST 60 PEOPLE KILLED IN GOLD MINE COLLAPSE

AL-NUHUD, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA-Reuters/ - At least 60 people were killed when a gold mine collapsed in a remote area north of the town of Al-Nuhud in Sudan's West Kordofan state, local sources said.

Local sources said the high number of casualties was due to a lack of safety procedures and rescue equipment in makeshift mine shafts.

West Kordofan is controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, for which gold mining is one of the main sources of income.

Sudan is one of Africa's largest gold producers, but the vast majority of its gold is produced using dangerous artisanal mining methods and is subsequently smuggled out of the country.