The death toll in a gold mine collapse earlier this week in Sudan’s North Darfur State has risen to about 75, while some are still missing, eyewitnesses told Xinhua yesterday.About 100 people were working inside the mine at the time of the collapse, said the witnesses, who said the exact number of the injured could not be specified. On Thursday, Sudanese Police spokesman Gen. Al-Sir Ahmed Omer said over 60 workers had been killed in the gold mine disaster, which reportedly occurred on Monday. Haroun Al-Hussein, commissioner of Al-Siraif locality, warned against the danger of gold exploration at Jabel A’mer area, where the collapse took place, noting that it could pose a threat to the lives of the explorers.In February, 53 people were killed and 83 others injured in tribal clashes between Bani Hussein and Abbala tribes in Al-Siraif locality in North Darfur State, which pushed the Sudanese authorities to intervene to contain the clashes and halt the gold exploration operations at Jabel A’mer area.Similar tribal clashes took place in early January between the two tribes at Jabel A’mer due to disputes over gold mines, in which some 100 people were killed.
