Almost 30 coal miners were killed when a mine in the north of Afghanistan collapsed, raising fears about the safety of workers in a vital sector of the country's economy, according to NBC News. The 27 coal miners died in the Ruyi Du Ab district of Samangan province on Saturday, said a spokesman for the province's governor. An initial investigation suggested that the mine's entry and exit tunnel collapsed, trapping the workers inside. 20 other miners were hurt and received treatment at a local hospital. The bodies of the dead miners were removed from the min, though rescue workers were still searching for any others who might be missing. Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, expects to earn as much as $4 billion a year in revenues from mining in the decade from 2014, when most Western forces are due to leave, according to Reuters. However safety standards aren't as enforced as they should be, with some mines using children as young as 10 in spite of regulations forbidding child labor, Reuters added.
