What happened? As a result of the collapse of a gold mine in the Yawan district of Badakhshan, two people have died and another person was injured.
Go deeper:
- Muzz al-Din Ahmadi, director of information and culture in Badakhshan province, said that the incident took place at a gold mine in Yawan district on Friday. According to him, the accident was the result of the fall of a part of the gold mine.
- According to local sources in Badakhshan province, with the efforts of the local people, an injured worker had been pulled out from under the rubble.
- However, two other workers died due to severe injuries and lack of oxygen on the site in the village of Tere Beed, where the mine collapsed.
Zoom out: This year marks the first time such an incident has taken killed miners in Badakhshan. Recent rains in the district have put gold mines at greater risk of destruction and there is a possibility that other mines could collapse, officials said.
- Gold mines in Badakhshan lack safety and are akin to non-standard drilling. However, mine collapses are not uncommon in Afghanistan. There is scant oversight of Afghanistan’s mining industry and deadly accidents are common.
- On February 3, 2022, at least 10 miners died in Afghanistan after being trapped underground when a coal mine collapsed in the northern province of Baghlan. Thirteen workers were trapped when the mine caved in and only three were rescued alive.
- Many ground sources also said that many experienced miners fled the country when the Taliban took power in August, and their replacements lack training.
