4 miners die in coal mine gas explosion in Balochistan's Harnai
Four miners died while another four were injured after a gas explosion at a coal mine in the Shahrag area of Balochistan’s Harnai district, officials said. According to rescue sources, the incident occurred at PMDC Coal Mine 151 in Shahrag, where a powerful explosion took place following the accumulation of methane gas. “Eight miners were trapped deep inside the mine as fire broke out after the…
Four miners perished and four others were injured when a gas explosion occurred at a coal mine in Shahrag, Harnai district of Balochistan. The incident happened at PMDC Coal Mine 151, where a significant explosion was triggered by the build-up of methane gas. Rescue teams, along with the local administration, initiated a rescue operation immediately after the explosion.
As reported by rescue sources, eight miners were trapped underground following the blast, with four of them succumbing to their injuries while the other four were rescued with injuries and taken to the hospital. The Balochistan chief inspector of mines, Muhammad Atif Khan, informed Dawn that rescue operations were swiftly mounted following the news of the accident.
State-run Radio Pakistan also covered the incident, stating that the army assisted in the rescue efforts. However, it reported a discrepancy, mentioning that five miners were rescued alive instead of four. The deceased miners were repatriated to their hometown in Swat, while the injured were given initial medical care before being transferred to Quetta for further treatment.
Due to the frequent accidents in Pakistan's coal mines, primarily caused by gas accumulation, workers have frequently complained about inadequate safety gear and poor working conditions. Last month, three workers lost their lives in a gas explosion at a coal mine in the Degari area of Balochistan’s Mastung district. In July, at least 32 coal miners, mostly from Shangla, perished in a powerful methane gas explosion at a mine in Quetta.
The families of the deceased later rejected the compensation of Rs400,000 offered to them. In response to these incidents, the National Labour Federation (NLF) Balochistan has been advocating for improvements in mine safety. Umar Hayat, the General Secretary of NLF Balochistan, pointed out that the province has 196 mining companies operating nearly 3,000 coal mines, yet only 17 mine inspectors are tasked with overseeing safety standards, deeming this number "grossly inadequate."
Written by urgent.news from Dawn's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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