32 trapped as coal mine collapses in Afghanistan

At least 32 miners are trapped underground after a coal mine collapsed in northern Afghanistan, provincial officials confirmed on Sunday.

Rescuers have been working tirelessly since the collapse, which occurred late Saturday in the Dara-i-Sof Payin district of Samangan province.

Samangan Governor’s spokesperson, Esmat Muradi, told newsmen that it remains unclear how many of the trapped miners are still alive.

“Excavators and rescuers have been working since early morning but unfortunately, the opening to the mine has not yet been cleared,” Muradi said.

Afghanistan’s mining industry operates with little oversight, making such deadly accidents alarmingly common.

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Workers often extract coal, marble, minerals, gold, and gemstones in rudimentary pits without adequate safety equipment.

In February 2022, ten miners died in a similar coal mine collapse in Baghlan province. Other recent tragedies include a gas explosion that killed seven workers in Samangan in June 2020 and the collapse of a gold mine in Badakhshan in 2019, which left at least 30 dead.