Explosion in coal mine in Pakistan’s southwest kills 12 workers

QUETTA: At least 12 coal miners died in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province after a powerful explosion occurred inside the pit where they were working, a local mining official confirmed on Wednesday.
The explosion happened in Harnai district, a region rich in the mineral resource but notorious for dangerous coal mining incidents.
The latest explosion in the area was reported on Tuesday night, when 10 miners were working deep inside a pit of a local coal mine company.
The powerful carbon monoxide explosion caused a cave-in at one part of the mine in the Zardarlu area. Subsequently, a rescue attempt by a group of 10 people led to them also becoming trapped.
“Rescue teams have retrieved 11 bodies of the trapped miners this morning while eight workers have been rescued in injured condition and shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment,” provincial inspector mines Abdul Ghani told Arab News.
“Still there is a body of one coal miner which will be pulled out in the coming hour as a rescue operation by district administration and Balochistan’s PDMA [Provincial Disaster Management Authority] continues in the area,” he added.
The province’s chief minister, Sarfaraz Bugti, took notice of the incident on Tuesday night and directed the provincial mining department and PDMA officials to ensure safe recovery of the trapped miners.
According to provincial mining associations, over 70,000 miners work across hundreds of coal fields in the province. Many of those who joined the profession in the past lost their lives due to the neglectful attitudes of private coal mine owners who often disregard worker safety.
In 2022, 56 coal mine accidents were reported in Balochistan province, resulting in the deaths of at least 76 workers who were operating without proper safety equipment in hazardous mine sites.
“In Ramadan, the workers started digging for coal after [the sunset] iftar [meal],” Ghani said. “They went inside the pit which was filled with hazardous gas. We will investigate whether they ignited a flame inside the mine that caused the explosion.”