Kabul:Twenty-seven Afghan miners trapped underground have been found dead in the northern province of Samangan,sources said.

Provincial governors spokesman Mohammad Seddiq Azizi said that the men had been working at the Abkhorak coal mine when part of it collapsed.Four members of the rescue teams were badly injured.

An official said the rescue teams did not have the appropriate equipment. Mining is a state-controlled industry.

It is feared that at least 13 other miners could still be trapped in the mine 215km (135 miles) north of the capital, Kabul.