KABUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- At least five workers were killed when a gold mine collapsed in Afghanistan's remote northeastern Badakhshan province on early Thursday, local authorities reported.
The incident occurred in the Aweez region of Shahri Buzurg district as people were searching for gold. Mawlawi Mohammad Akram Akbari, provincial director for disaster management, confirmed the death toll stood at five, with search efforts continuing for any additional victims.
Badakhshan, a rugged and isolated province, is rich in mineral resources but plagued by dangerous, unregulated artisanal mining.
Such tragic accidents are common in Afghanistan's poverty-stricken mining sector, where traditional, unregulated practices continue to claim lives in the absence of modern machinery and professional safety standards. ■
