Atbara, June 29(Darfur 24)
Eighteen mineworkers were killed and 11 others injured on Friday evening when a well collapsed at the Howaid mine in Abu Hamad, located 217 kilometers north of Atbara, River Nile State.
Nasr al-Din Muhammad, a relative of the victims, stated that his relative, Allam Abdullah Adam, 21, was among the 29 miners who were struck by the collapse while working at the Howaid mine, located about 45 kilometers east of Abu Hamad.
He explained that 18 bodies were recovered from the rubble, while the injured were transferred to state hospitals for treatment.
Nasr al-Din indicated that most of the victims were from Gedaref State and Darfur Region, with others from Omdurman.
Nasreddin’s account matched that of eyewitness Ismail Issa, who reported that his friend, Mohamed Abdel Shafie, in his twenties, was killed in the same incident.
Ismail explained that burial procedures had been delayed since Friday evening, with the victims being buried on Saturday morning.
Thousands of artisanal miners across Sudan work under harsh conditions that lack even basic safety standards, making wells collapses common in the country’s artisanal mines.
A similar incident occurred at the Sengo mine in South Darfur late last year, resulting in deaths and injuries among miners.