KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least seven miners have been killed and two others injured in an explosion at a coal mine in northern Samangan province, local Taliban authorities have confirmed.
The incident took place late on Tuesday, May 20, in Dara-e-Suf Payin district, according to Hashmatullah Rahmani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s police command in the province.
Rahmani said the bodies of the victims were handed over to their families, while the injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The cause of the explosion has not been disclosed.
Deadly accidents at coal and gold mines are frequent in Afghanistan, particularly in Samangan province. Many are linked to unsafe and unregulated mining practices.
Experts say that non-professional extraction methods and failure to follow safety guidelines are major causes of such incidents.
Miners from Afghanistan have also lost their lives in similar incidents abroad. Earlier this month, at least nine coal miners from the Hazara-populated Daykundi province were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Tajikistan. They had been recruited by local contractors to work in the country’s coal mines.
