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 . 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 Halo Trust reports . The kidnappers first took the explosives workers -- all Afghan natives -- their vehicles and their equipment to a village . Then the abductors forced the captives to go into the mountains , Homayoun said . No one , including the Taliban , has taken responsibility for the kidnapping , Homayoun said , and no ransom demands have been made . Local police are also working to free them , said Herat province Police Chief Abdul Rauf Ahmadi said . He said the mine clearers traveled to the area without informing area security officials , who could have guarded them in the remote , rugged and insecure region .
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 . They had no food or water for days.