KHARTOUM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were killed and six others injured when a traditional gold mine collapsed recently in South Kordofan state in southern Sudan, the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company said Wednesday.
The company, a government body overseeing mining activities, said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page that five abandoned shafts at the Um Fakroun mine in Abu Jubaiha locality collapsed on Friday.
Several people were still missing, it said.
According to the statement, the collapsed shafts had been abandoned and officially closed. Some miners sneaked into the site and resumed unregulated work after cutting away the shafts' support structures, causing the shafts to become unstable and collapse.
Sudan has sought to boost gold production as a key source of foreign currency since losing three-quarters of its oil revenue following South Sudan's secession in 2011. However, the sector has seen frequent accidents due to poor safety standards and aging infrastructure. ■
