2 mine explosions leave 23 dead
quetta — Twenty-three people were killed and 11 wounded after gas explosions tore through two neighbouring coal mines in southwestern Pakistan, officials said on Sunday.
Shortly before midday on Saturday, a build-up of methane caused an explosion and tunnel collapse at a mine in Marwaarh, east of Quetta, the capital of the fossil fuel-rich Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
Jawaid Shahwani, the top government official in Quetta, said 16 of the 25 people inside the mine at the time were killed, with the remaining miners rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.
Around three hours later, a mine 25km from Spin Carez collapsed in similar circumstances, killing seven of the nine miners inside.
Provincial mines minister Saleh Baloch said that all miners in both accidents had been accounted for and rescue operations had ended.
Among the 23 deceased, two workers were native to Balochistan, whereas the remaining 21 belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district.
Of the 21, 15 were relatives and neighbours in the village of Zara, which is now preparing to bury the dead. A complete shutter down is being observed in Shangla’s Alpuri tehsil as the town mourns the incident.
Working in a coal mine in Pakistan is a dangerous job as regulations are seldom implemented, making mine explosion incidents common.
According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PMCLF), between 100 and 200 labourers on average die in coal mine accidents every year. At least 11 miners died in two such incidents in mines in Darra Adam Khel and Jhelum last month.
A large number of casualties in these incidents are from Shangla district — which contributes a large number of workers to the mining industry in Pakistan.
In 2015, seven miners were killed when a mine exploded in Balochistan’s Dukki area. All of them were from Shangla.
A year later, at least eight were killed in an explosion in a coal mine in Doli area of the Orakzai Agency, five of whom were from Shangla.
Their families were given Rs50,000 cheques in the opening ceremony of an orphanage in Shangla a few days later. —
All miners in both accidents had been accounted for and rescue operations had ended Saleh Baloch, Balochistan minister