2 miners killed, 12 trapped due to explosion in coal mine near Quetta

At least 2 miners were killed while a dozen others are trapped following a gas explosion inside a coal mine in Quetta's Sanjadi area on Sunday evening, DawnNewsTV reported.

According to Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of two miners and are currently trying to retrieve the miners trapped inside the coal mine. However, nothing can be said about their chances of survival.

Balochistan’s Chief Inspector of Mines Iftikhar Ahmed is present at the site to monitor the rescue work.

Editorial: No protection for coal miners

Bakht Nawab, an official of coal miners association in Balochistan told DawnNewsTV, that the “chances of their survival were bleak”.

The trapped miners belong to Shangla, Swat and Dir areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Poor working conditions inside coal mines in Balochistan claim the lives of miners on an almost daily basis in Harnai, Sowrange, Dukki, Mach and other parts of the province, but often go unreported.

Also read: Worth the wage?

Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, generally incompetent rock, leakage or explosion of poisonous gases and coal dust, collapsing of mine stopes or general mechanical errors from improper use and malfunctioning of mining equipment.

According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF), between 100 and 200 labourers die on average in coal mine accidents every year.