Sudan's top military leader visits site of collapsed dam

Sudan's top military leader, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, met on Sunday with locals and first responders at the site of a dam collapse in the northeast of the country

The Arbaat Dam north of Port Sudan burst following torrential rain in the area, washing away farms and villages downstream.

Amr Eissa Taher, the head water resources official for the Red Sea state said the damage was extensive.

A local official told the Sudanese news site Al-Tagheer that at least 60 people may be dead with many more missing.

The health ministry says resources have been deployed to the area to help people who have been stranded.

It is the latest disaster to hit Sudan, which has been ravaged by war since April last year when fighting broke out between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Millions of people have been forced from their homes by the fighting and several of the country’s states have declared famine.

The extreme weather conditions will only exacerbate food shortages.

The dam was the main water supply for Port Sudan which has become the de facto administrative capital since fighting overtook Khartoum.