KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan media is quoting an official in North Darfur as saying that a gold mine has collapsed in the province and 60 miners are thought to be trapped.
Attempts to reach officials on Thursday to confirm the collapse in the remote Saraf Umra locality were unsuccessful.
The area, south of the provincial capital of North Darfur, witnessed tribal violence earlier this year over mining rights.
Akhir Lahza daily and Al-Shorouq TV, which both have ties to the Sudanese government, quoted local commissioner Haroon al-Hussein as saying that rescue operations were underway following a mine shaft collapse the day before.
He said 60 people are believed trapped. That would be an unusually high number because less than a half dozen miners typically work in the traditional mining areas.
