At least five miners were killed after a hillside collapse in Shahr-e-Buzurg district of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, underscoring once again the deadly risks of unsafe and informal mining practices.
The incident occurred Thursday morning in Awiz village, where workers were engaged in primitive gold extraction inside basic tunnels.
Local Taliban authorities said all confirmed victims were residents of Yawan district, while assessment operations were continuing amid concerns that additional casualties may be possible.
District officials also warned about instability in parts of the mining zone, signaling that broader geological and operational dangers remain.
Beyond being an isolated disaster, the collapse reflects wider structural problems including weak mining oversight, poor safety standards, and harsh economic conditions that push many Afghans into hazardous informal labor.
Across parts of Afghanistan, small-scale and unregulated mining has become an immediate survival strategy for impoverished families, yet without technical supervision or protective infrastructure, such sites have repeatedly turned into deadly workplaces.
