KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Eight young men from Afghanistan have died in a coal mine explosion in northern Tajikistan, local sources in Daykundi province have confirmed.
The explosion occurred on Friday, May 9, at a coal mine in Ayni district, located in Tajikistan’s Sughd province. The cause of the explosion is believed to be a buildup of gas inside the mine.
All the victims were from Shahristan district in Daykundi, a Hazara-populated province in central Afghanistan. The victims were identified as Kazim Beigi, Abdullah Ahmadi, Hassan Alizada, Hussain Bakhsh, Mohammad Amir, Ali Jan, Quban, and Ismail Rahimi. Some of the victims were university graduates
Their bodies were returned to Afghanistan on Saturday morning, sources said.
The young men were reportedly sent to Tajikistan by a contracting company based in Afghanistan. The source named two of the company’s officials as “Rouhullah” and “Taqi Dilsouz” and said the firm was working with a Tajik company called Faraz.
Neither Tajikistan officials nor Taliban authorities have commented on the incident.
With high unemployment at home, many people from Afghanistan—particularly young men—seek work in neighboring countries, often in difficult and dangerous conditions.
Similar incidents have been reported in the past in Iran and Pakistan, where citizens of Afghanistan working in mines have lost their lives.
