Kabul, Aug 9 (IANS) One miner was killed and another injured in an explosion during a mining operation in Afghanistan’s Barg-e Matal district of Nuristan province, local media reported on Sunday, citing sources.
The explosion took place in the Pechigram area of Barg-e Matal district on Saturday when two men were extracting minerals, Afghanistan-based news agency Khaama Press reported. The cause of the explosion is not clear yet, while there was no information shared about the type of mineral that was being extracted.
The explosion showcases the persistent safety risks faced by the mining sector in Afghanistan, where workers have been killed or injured in mine collapses and other accidents in recent years.
Earlier in March, two mine workers were killed due to gas poisoning in Afghanistan’s Samangan. According to local Taliban authorities in Samangan, the two workers died due to gas poisoning inside a coal mine in Dara-i-Suf Bala district of Samangan, Khaama Press reported.
In a statement, the Taliban’s police command in Samangan said that the two workers died due to gas exposure. Taliban officials said the victims belonged to Bamiyan and Daikundi provinces.
Earlier in February also similar incident took place in which, one person was killed and another injured in a mine collapse in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, according to local police officials.
In a statement, the provincial police headquarters said that the incident took place at a sapphire mine in the Mamand Tor Nawo area of Spin Ghar district, Afghanistan-based another news agency Pajhwok Afghan News reported. According to the statement, one person was killed while another was injured after they were buried under debris.
Earlier on January 9, at least four miners died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a precious and semi-precious stones mine in the Khash district of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing provincial police spokesman Ehsanullah Kamgar. He stated that toxic gas accumulated in the underground workings, resulting in four workers suffocating to death.
–IANS
akl/rs
