IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Afghanistan

At least 30 killed in gold mine collapse

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 wartorn country. Another seven were injured in the incident in Kohistan district of Badakhshan province, district governor Mohammad Rustam Raghi said. "The people were using an excavator to dig a big hole in the river when it collapsed, trapping dozens of workers," he said. It was not clear why the shaft collapsed. 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.

Spain

549 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean

The country's maritime rescue service said it had saved 549 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The service said its craft intercepted six small smuggling boats carrying a total of 350 migrants on Saturday in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar. On Sunday another 199 migrants were pulled from five different boats, including two tiny inflatable boats meant for small bodies of water or near the beach. One of those tiny recreational boats was carrying four children. The other was packed with 10 adults. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that 2,262 migrants died while crossing the Mediterranean in 2018.

Afp - Ap

(China Daily 01/08/2019 page12)