Aybak, Dec 15 (IANS): About 35 miners were trapped under the rubble of a coal mine in Afghanistan's Samangan province, local officials said on Sunday.

The provincial health director Sayed Usman Hamidi counted 35 miners under the debris, saying rescue teams and health personnel have been dispatched to the area to rescue the trapped miners, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Preliminary reports indicate that several miners were busy in a coal mine in Dara-i-Sufi Payin district of Samangan province yesterday, but part of the mine caved in, and resultantly several miners were trapped under rubble," a statement from the provincial police office released on Sunday said.

The statement further said that police personnel, local officials, and villagers have rushed to the site to rescue trapped miners from under the debris.

Rescue operations were on to rescue workers trapped under the debris, but none have been freed yet, according to local Taliban officials.

The incident occurred around 6 p.m. Saturday, according to Bakhtar News Agency.

Earlier this week, two workers died from gas exposure at a coal mine in Bamiyan province’s Khwaja Ganj village.

In February 2002, at least 10 miners lost their lives after being trapped underground when a coal mine collapsed in Afghanistan.

In 2019, at least 30 people were killed in the collapse of a gold mine in Afghanistan, officials said. The collapse occurred in the Kohistan district of Badakhshan province.

Afghanistan houses vast resources of minerals but many of the mines are old and poorly maintained.

Afghanistan's mining sector has seen frequent fatal accidents, often attributed to inadequate safety measures and a lack of proper equipment.