Four Students Perish in Afghanistan Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

(MENAFN) Four students perished from carbon monoxide poisoning Sunday in Nili, the administrative center of Daykundi province in central Afghanistan, provincial law enforcement authorities confirmed in an official statement.

The victims succumbed to toxic gas exposure after utilizing unprocessed coal in a conventional heating stove inside their residence, where lethal fumes built up and asphyxiated them, the provincial police office reported.

The deceased—aged 16, 17, 18 and 19—had journeyed from an outlying district of the province to Nili specifically to study for the national university entrance examination and were actively preparing for the test when the fatal incident occurred.

This tragedy follows another recent carbon monoxide fatality just two weeks prior, when no fewer than four miners died from toxic gas inhalation at a stone extraction site in northern Badakhshan province.

Throughout Afghanistan, severe winter conditions combined with the complete absence of modern central heating infrastructure compel countless families to depend on traditional combustion stoves that burn wood or coal for warmth. Such deadly incidents occur with troubling frequency across the nation, driven by inadequate ventilation in residential spaces and widespread reliance on substandard fuel sources.

The preventable deaths underscore ongoing safety challenges facing Afghan communities, particularly students and workers in remote regions where heating alternatives remain limited and safety standards are minimal.

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