QUETTA: The death toll from a gas explosion at a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta rose to 34 on Friday as rescuers recovered more bodies from the collapsed mine and continued efforts to reach the remaining trapped workers.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said 42 miners were trapped after the blast at a coal mine in the in the Sorange coalfield, located about 30 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital.
Rescue teams initially recovered 18 bodies from the mine before retrieving 16 more, bringing the confirmed death toll to 34. Efforts are continuing to reach the remaining trapped workers.
Balochistan’s Minister for Mines and Minerals, Shoaib Nosherwani, said rescue teams were continuing operations despite extremely difficult conditions.
Officials said the blast occurred at a private coal mine in the afternoon when 42 miners were working about 4,000 feet underground. Soon after the explosion, a fire broke out inside the mine, causing parts of the structure to collapse. The blast was heard over a wide area of Sorange.
The explosion severely affected another mine located near the main site. Twelve miners working in the second mine were also trapped. A total of 42 coal miners were present inside both mines when the blast occurred, officials said.
According to the mine owner, all 42 miners working in the mine at the time of the explosion were from Shangla district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Yesterday, Chief Inspector of Mines Muhammad Atif said the explosion was believed to have been caused by the accumulation of methane gas at a depth of around 4,000 feet, triggering a fire and filling the mine with hazardous gases. He said most coal mine explosions in Balochistan occurred due to the presence of methane gas.
The government said that authorities would conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
