AIBAK (Pajhwok): The bodies of 20 people were pulled out following an explosion in a coalmine tunnel in the Dar-i-SaufBala district of northern Samangan province on Wednesday, residents said.
Abdul Khaliq, the district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News based on information from residents of the area the death toll had risen from 12 to 20 people.
With the precise source of information still unknown, he said that a team had been dispatched to from the district centre the blast site determine casualty figures.
The incident took place at around 10:00am inside the coalmine in Mardahana Tor village, resident Ahmadullah said. The tunnel collapsed as a result of the explosion.
Police chief, Brig. Gen. Mohammad AkramBekzad, said efforts were underway to rescue up to 25 miners stranded in the tunnel. So far, more than a dozen corpses had been recovered, he confirmed.
