At least three miners were killed after a gold mine collapsed in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province on Monday, local Taliban officials said.
The incident occurred in the Kisham district, where workers were extracting gold from a small mine, according to Taliban district governor Hayatullah Mohsin. He said the bodies of the victims had been recovered from the site.
Mohsin did not provide details on the cause of the collapse, adding that an investigation was under way.
Mining accidents are common in Afghanistan, where many sites operate informally with little oversight. A lack of safety equipment, unregulated excavation and poor enforcement of mining standards have contributed to frequent deadly incidents, particularly in remote areas.
Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources, including gold, coal and gemstones, but much of the extraction is carried out by small-scale miners using basic tools, often under hazardous conditions.
