Pakistan coal mine explosion leaves at least four dead, eight missing

KARACHI: A methane gas explosion caused a coal mine to collapse in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, killing at least four miners, authorities said, as officials launched a search operation to rescue eight other missing workers.

The coal mine collapsed on January 9 in the Sanjdi area located around 40 kilometers from Quetta in the Balochistan province.

The mine collapsed due to a methane gas accumulation and explosion leaving 12 workers trapped inside the collapsed structure.

“The incident occurred due to a buildup of gas, which caused an explosion and the mine to cave in,” Balochistan government spokesperson, Shahid Rind said on Saturday.

He said full-scale rescue operations were ongoing for more than 24 hours, but due to the presence of toxic gas and debris, progress was slow.

Rind confirmed that on Friday evening the rescue workers succeeded in recovering four bodies from the mine.

Abdullah Shawani, the head of the province's mining department conceded that chances of recovering the eight remaining workers were very slim as they were buried nearly 1500 feet under the mine and their condition would be critical after 48 hours.

He confirmed the mine was a privately operated one and investigations would be carried out to find out why the explosion occurred and if proper mining regulations were followed.

Balochistan's Minister for Mines and Finance, Mir Shoaib Nosherwani, said that rescue teams are making every effort to save the remaining miners.

Pir Muhammad Kakar, one of the leaders of the mines workers association said the incident was again the result of not implementing mining regulations by the owner of the coal mine and the responsible officials at the mines department.

He demanded strict action against them.

Coal mine collapses and death of workers happens frequently in the coal-rich western Balochistan known for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards.

In March last year, at least 12 miners were killed in a gas explosion at a coalpit in Harnai.

In May 2018, 23 people were killed and 11 wounded after two neighbouring coal mines collapsed in Sanjdi while 43 workers also died in 2011 when gas explosions triggered a collapse in another Balochistan colliery.