KABUL, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Two miners who were working in a coalmine in northern Afghanistan's Samangan province lost their lives due to gas poisoning on Saturday, said a statement of the provincial police office on Sunday.

Bodies of both victims, respectively from the central Bamiyan and the neighboring Daykundi provinces, have been handed over to their families, the statement said without providing more details.

Unsafe mining practices, outdated equipment, and a lack of trained personnel often claim the lives of poor miners in post-war Afghanistan. ■