Mine collapse kills 27, injures 20 in Afghanistan

Officials in Afghanistan said Sunday that up to 27 people were killed and 20 others injured in coal mine collapse incident in northern Afghanistan’s Samangan province.  

 “The rescue operation is concluded. As many as 27 bodies of local workers have been recovered since Saturday afternoon when the mine collapsed. And 20 others were injured,”provincial government spokesman Mohammad Seddiq Azizi told the media, Xinhua news agency reported.

The incident occurred in Abkhorak mine in Ro-e-Dohab district at midday. Nearly 50 people were trapped under the debris there.

Hundreds of local people also joined the police and rescue team to help save the lives in the province with Aybak as its capital, 215 km north of Afghan capital Kabul.

Mine accidents and worker deaths have also occurred in the past in the war-torn country. Smaller mines often escape inspection and bypass many basic safety standards.

The Afghan government has recently closed down several coal mines in northern provinces for fear of collapse.

A total of 11 workers were killed in a similar incident in neighboring Baghlan province in December.

Meanwhile two policemen were killed and three police wounded early Sunday morning in bombing in eastern Afghan province of Laghman, the authorities said.

One Afghan National Police (ANP) vehicle with five people aboard touched off a roadside bomb in Islamabad area of the Alishing district early Sunday morning. The blast killed two officers and wounded three others, the provincial government said in a statement.

“They were traveling to Salab area of the district to respond to a militants’ attack on an Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint, ” it said.

The engagement between militants and ALP has lead to death and injuries of several militants but no member of ALP was hurt in the clash, it noted, without providing more details.

The ALP, or community police, was established in 2010 to protect villages and districts around country where army and police have limited presence.

The Taliban insurgent group uses Improvised explosive device ( IED) to launch roadside bombing against security forces.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group launched annual rebel offensive in April against Afghan government forces and about 98,000 NATO-led troops stationed in the country.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Sep 15 2013. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.