Twenty-two miners have been rescued following a mine collapse in the Dara-i Sof Payin district of Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, capping an hours-long rescue operation, Al Jazeera reports.
The collapse occurred late Saturday, initially trapping an estimated 32 people, according to Esmat Muradi, spokesperson for the provincial governor, Mullah Muhammad Shoaib.
Early Sunday, Muradi told AFP news agency that excavators and rescuers were working to clear the mine entrance, which was blocked by debris. However, Shoaib later confirmed that 22 miners had been successfully rescued and that no further individuals were believed to be trapped. He reported no fatalities in the incident.
A video circulating online shows heavy machinery clearing debris and rescue workers using torchlight to reach the trapped miners. Despite the successful rescue, local concerns were raised regarding the lack of professional rescue teams deployed to the site.
Sources familiar with the mine had previously expressed pessimism about the chances of survival, citing the presence of potentially lethal gas, the mine’s narrow passages, and the likely buildup of pressure. The exact type of mineral being mined was not immediately clear, though Afghanistan possesses abundant reserves of marble, copper, zinc, lead, gold, gemstones, and coal.
The incident highlights the ongoing dangers within Afghanistan’s mining sector, which has long suffered from a lack of oversight and safety regulations. Deadly accidents are relatively common. In February 2022, at least 10 miners perished in a coal mine collapse in Baghlan province. A gas explosion triggered a cave-in at a Samangan mine in June 2020, killing seven workers. A gold mine collapse in Badakhshan province in 2019 resulted in at least 30 deaths, with another collapse in the same province in January of last year leaving the casualty count unknown.
