At least 30 gold miners killed in Afghanistan landslide

KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 30 workers were killed in a landslide in northeastern Afghanistan while illegally sifting for gold, a lawmaker said Sunday.

The landslide occurred in Badakhshan province, Mohammad Zekriya, a lawmaker from the province, told The Washington Post. The mining activity did not prompt the landslide, he said.

Workers were in a river bed sifting for gold when rocks and debris tumbled down the mountainside. In addition to those killed, at least six people were injured.

“The exploitation of the mine was done illegally” by locals paid by a mining company, Zekriya said.

The government does not control swaths of the region, which would make any rescue or retrieval operation difficult, he said. Militants there collect taxes from the miners.

Landslides are common in the rugged, mountainous north, typically caused by melting snow or heavy rain.

Badakhshan is among the poorest and least-developed areas of Afghanistan. A pair of mudslides in May 2014 killed hundreds there.

The last major landslide, in April 2015, killed more than 50 people and destroyed about 100 mud-built homes.