FAIZABAD (Pajhwok): Three miners lost their lives after a beryl mine collapsed in the Ashkasham district of northeastern Badakhshan province.
Mohammad Kamgar, head of the Natural Disaster Response Department in Badakhshan, confirmed the incident, stating that it occurred on Sunday evening in the Sefid Awering area of Ashkasham district.
The victims were reportedly extracting the precious stone beryl at the time of the collapse.
He added that the bodies of all the three miners have been recovered from beneath the rubble.
This tragedy highlights growing risks faced by young people in Badakhshan, many of whom—driven by poverty and unemployment—turn to unregulated gold panning and the informal extraction of precious and semi-precious stones. These unsafe practices often result in fatal accidents.
sa/ma
