At least 30 killed as gold mine collapses in Afghanistan
At least 30 people were killed when a gold mine collapsed in northeastern Afghanistan today. Another seven were injured in the incident in Kohistan district of Badakhshan province, district governor Mohammad Rustam Raghi informed the media. Villagers had dug a 60-meter (200-feet) deep shaft in a riverbed to search for gold. They were inside when the walls fell in. Here are more details.
Workers were digging big hole in river when mine collapsed
"The people were using an excavator to dig a big hole in the river when it collapsed, trapping dozens of workers," Raghi said. It was not clear why the shaft collapsed, but the provincial governor's spokesman Nik Mohammad Nazari said the miners were not professionals. "The villagers have been involved in this business for decades with no government control over them," Nazari said.
Taliban relies on illegal mining for much of its revenue
"We have sent a rescue team to the area, but villagers have already started removing bodies from the site," said Nazari. Badakhshan is a remote, mountainous province in northeast Afghanistan bordering Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan. The impoverished region is prone to landslides. Illegal mining is common in resource-rich Afghanistan, with the Taliban relying on the sector for much of its revenue.
