ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Islamabad expressed solidarity with Pakistan on Friday after a coal mine explosion killed 34 people in the southwestern Balochistan province this week.
The explosion, suspected to be caused by methane gas, tore through the mine near the capital of the resource-rich province of Balochistan on Thursday, sparking a rescue operation that ran through the night.
Balochistan’s provincial disaster management authority said on Friday that 34 bodies were retrieved from the site. It added that the joint rescue operation is still underway to locate and recover the remaining trapped miners.
“The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan following the explosion that occurred in a coal mining complex northeast of the city of Quetta in the Balochistan province, which resulted in the death of 34 people,” the Saudi embassy said.
Ahmed Zada, a mine worker at the site, told AFP that other miners rushed into the mine after hearing the explosion but they also died.
Relatives, rescuers, and miners gathered at the mine entrance in Sorange, around 50 kilometers from the provincial capital Quetta, on Friday as the rescue operations were carried out.
Mining accidents are common in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan, and labor rights movements have previously called for ramped-up safety standards and enforcement for the sector.
Pakistan’s poorest province yet its largest by landmass, Balochistan lags behind the rest of the country in almost every index, including education, employment and economic development. However, it is rich in resources including coal — as well as more lucrative gold and copper reserves.
Additional input by AFP
