At least 30 killed in Afghan gold mine collapse: officials
Kunduz, Jan 6: At least 30 people were killed when a gold mine collapsed in northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said, in the latest tragedy to strike the war-torn country.
Another seven were injured in the incident in Kohistan district of Badakhshan province, district governor Mohammad Rustam Raghi told AFP.
Villagers had dug a 60-metre (200-feet) deep shaft in a river bed to search for gold. They were inside when the walls fell in.
"The people were using an excavator to dig a big hole in the river when it collapsed, trapping dozens of workers," Raghi said.
"At least 30 people have been killed and seven wounded." It was not clear why the shaft collapsed, but the provincial governor's spokesman Nik Mohammad Nazari told AFP the miners were not professionals.
"The villagers have been involved in this business for decades with no government control over them," Nazari said.
"We have sent a rescue team to the area, but villagers have already started removing bodies from the site." Defense ministry helicopters have been dispatched to deliver cash to the families of the victims and airlift the wounded to hospitals, said Hashmat Bahaduri, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority.
Bahaduri confirmed the casualty toll, but warned the figures could change.
Families of the wounded will receive 10,000 afghanis (about USD 130) in compensation, while those of the dead will get 50,000 afghanis, he said.
Badakhshan is a remote, mountainous province in northeast Afghanistan bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan.
The impoverished region is prone to landslides, particularly in the colder months when heavy snow blankets the province.
Illegal mining is common in resource-rich Afghanistan, with the Taliban relying on the sector for much of its revenue.
But most of the country's minerals remain untapped as the raging conflict and lack of regulation deter international miners from exploiting the huge reserves.
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Assam polls: Cong announces first list of 42 candidates, Gaurav to contest from Jorhat
Guwahati (PTI): The opposition Congress on Tuesday took the lead in announcing its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Assam, with it comprising both sitting MLAs and former ministers, and also new faces, including sons of three prominent politicians.
The party's chief ministerial candidate and state president Gaurav Gogoi will contest from the prestigious Jorhat assembly constituency, currently held by BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will make his first electoral foray for the assembly.
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Gogoi is currently the party MP from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency and previously represented Kaliabor twice before it was reconstituted during the delimitation exercise in the state.
The leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, will contest from the family stronghold of Nazira, which he has represented since 2016. His father, former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, and his mother, Hemoprava Saikia, previously represented the constituency.
Three sitting MLAs -- Nandita Das from Hajo-Sualkuchi, Diganta Barman from Barkhetry and Nurul Huda from Rupohihat -- have also been included in the list.
Das, a two-time MLA, had earlier contested from Boko but following the delimitation exercise in the state, she has been shifted to Hajo-Sualkuchi while Barman and Huda will contest from the same seats they represented in the current assembly.
Former minister and state Congress president Ripun Bora will contest from Barchalla while another former minister, Ajit Singh, will contest from Udharbond constituency in Barak Valley.
Former minister and Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukan, a four-time MLA till 2016, will contest from Naharkatia in Upper Assam.
Tanzil Hussain, son of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, will contest from Samaguri where he had lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah in the 2024 by-elections which was necessitated following the election of the senior Hussain to Lok Sabha.
Prateek Bordoloi, son of Nagaon MP Prodyut Bordoloi, will contest the Margherita seat which was represented by his father thrice since 2001.
Former five-time MP and prominent tea tribe leader Paban Singh Ghatowar's son Pranjal Ghatowar will contest from the Chabua-Lahowal seat.
Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, who had unsuccessfully contested the last parliamentary polls from Gauhati, has been given the ticket for the prestigious Dispur constituency.
Former BJP MLA Ashok Sarma, who was denied ticket by the ruling party in 2021 and went on to join the Congress in 2024, will contest from his previous Nalbari seat.
Another former BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar, who joined the Congress in 2024, will contest from Sonai constituency in Barak Valley.
Former AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, who joined the Congress in September 2025, will contest from Kamalpur seat.
Other prominent faces in the list include former Congress MLAs Durga Bhumij from Doomdooma, Binanda Kumar Saikia from Sipahjhar and Bubul Das from Jagiroad (SC) constituency.
The Congress is a leading part of the unified opposition alliance, 'Asom Sonmilito Morcha', formed to challenge the ruling BJP, and has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Left, but is yet to finalise it with Raijor Dal.
Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
