QUETTA: Four coal miners were killed while five others were injured on Sunday after a methane gas explosion triggered a mine collapse in southwestern Pakistan, a government official said.

The blast took place in Shahrag, a mountainous town home to hundreds of coal mines in Balochistan’s Harnai district, located around 168 kilometers (104 miles) from the provincial capital of Quetta.

Muhammad Atif, the chief mine inspector at the provincial mining department, said six people were working inside a coal mine owned by the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) 800 feet deep when it collapsed due to an explosion.

“Four mine workers were killed and five were injured after the mine caved in due to a methane gas blast,” Atif told Arab News.

He said the bodies and injured miners were recovered after a rescue operation that lasted for hours. Atif said two persons who suffered severe burn injuries were referred to Quetta for better treatment.

The official said the deceased miners belonged to the northwestern Swat district, adding that the bodies were shifted to their native villages for burial.

Dr. Hadi Kakar, medical superintendent at Quetta’s Civil Hospital, said four patients of the Shahrag coal mine blast arrived at the hospital’s trauma center for treatment.

He said two patients reached the hospital in critical condition, with 80 and 90 percent severe burn injuries. They were being treated under careful supervision.

“Two other patients with minor injuries were discharged from the hospital after being given initial treatment,” Kakar added.

Meanwhile, Atif said the provincial mining department has demanded in writing an inquiry into the mine collapse to ascertain its causes.

Mine accidents are common in mineral-rich Balochistan, where miners have often complained in the past about poor enforcement of safety regulations, inadequate ventilation arrangements, and methane gas dangers.

In July this year, at least 33 miners were killed in one of the deadliest coal mine disasters in Pakistan when a mine collapsed in Sorange, a coal field located in the Quetta district.

Three coal miners, including two Afghan nationals, were killed after inhaling poisonous methane gas in Balochistan’s Duki district last month.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti ordered the strict implementation and enforcement of safety mechanisms across all coal mining fields in the province last month after the Sorange blast.