60 mine defusers kidnapped

[File photo] Afghanistan National Army (ANA) take part in a de-mining exercise at Camp Shaheen on June 12, 2013.

• The landmine crew of Afghan natives was on its way to clear areas of Herat province


• The abductors took the workers, their vehicles and their equipment to a village


• Then the workers were forced to go into the mountains


• Eight of the abducted fled; tribal leaders are being called on to help release those still held

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — The prospect of being blown up makes defusing landmines dangerous work, particularly in Afghanistan. But that is just one of many dangers that explosives workers face there.

On Tuesday, armed men abducted 68 mine defusers who were on their way to clear explosives in the western province of Herat, on Iran’s border, a spokesman for the mine disposal organization that employs them said.

Eight of the abducted were able to flee, said Dr. Farid Homayoun of Britain’s Halo Trust.

Afghan security forces have surrounded the area, and Halo Trust is trying to enlist the help of local tribal elders to secure the release of the remaining 60.

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The organization has 150 mine defusing teams and employs more than 3,000 Afghans, it says on its website. It also destroys other munitions.

Since the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, multiple warring parties have laid landmines, bringing the total number of mines to as many as 640,000

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