Rescue workers pull bodies of 31 people from collapsed Sudanese gold mine

Sudanese authorities said Wednesday rescue workers retrievedthe bodies of at least 31 peoplefrom a collapsed gold mine in West Kordofan province.

The country's state-run mining company said workers and villagers were still searching the Darsaya mine for possible survivors andbodies of more people who may have been killed. The mine is located in the Fuja village, around 700 kilometres south of the capital of Khartoum.

The defunct mine collapsed earlier this week, killing at least 38 people, the company said Tuesday. It posted images on Facebook showing villagers gathering at the site as at least two dredgers worked to find possible survivors and bodies.

The Sudanese Mineral Resources Limited Company said the mine was not functional but that local miners returned to work there after security forces guarding the site left the area.

Collapses are common in Sudan's gold mines, where safety standards are not widely in effect.

Sudan is a major gold producer and hasminesacross the country. The industry, however, has suffered from years of mismanagement and corruption.

The transitional government has begun regulating the industry during the past two years.

Food warehouse looted

In nearby North Darfur province, an unidentified armed group late Tuesday attacked and looted a warehouse for the World Food Program (WFP) in the provincial capital of el-Fasher, said Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, United Nationshumanitarian co-ordinator in Sudan.

As many as 1,900 tonnesof food had been stored at the warehouse, meant to be distributed to people in need in the area, the WFP said.

"Such an attack severely impedes our ability to deliver to the people who need it the most," she said.

Sudan is one of the poorest counties in the world, with at least 14.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UNfigures.

The attack on WFP's warehouse came after another one on a former base for the UNpeacekeeping mission in el-Fasher last week. The base, handed over to Sudanese authorities on Dec. 21, was also looted, the UNsaid.