Quetta, April 16 (IANS) Five coal miners were killed and another injured in two separate mining accidents in Bolan and Duki coalfield areas of Pakistan’s Balochistan, local media reported on Thursday.
Officials said three miners died after they were trapped underground while methane gas accumulated in a coal mine in the Bolan coal mining field near Mach area. Other miners were able to escape from the affected mine and informed authorities about the incident, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
Rescue teams from the Mines and Minerals Department and local workers started an operation to rescue trapped miners. However, the miners had died due to suffocation caused by inhaling methane gas. The bodies of workers were found in the mine and taken to the hospital.
“We received three bodies of coal miners who died from inhaling poisonous methane gas,” said hospital officials.
The impacted coal mine was shut and an investigation into the incident has been ordered.
In a separate incident, two coal miners were killed and another was injured in an accident in the Duki coal mining area.
Police said that three coal miners were seriously injured after a trolley carrying coal hit them. They were immediately rushed to the hospital, where two miners succumbed to their injuries. The injured miner is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
In February, a report by the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation revealed that 89 coalminers had died in mines in Balochistan in 2025.
According to the report, accidents in these mines in Balochistan have increased by several times. Furthermore, accidents that occur in Balochistan are more than the accidents that happen in other provinces of Pakistan. The report revealed that 618 miners have died in Balochistan in the past eight years, Dawn reported.
With the workers being paid daily wages without job security, no health provisions and no education support for children, the condition of miners in Pakistan has been termed as inhuman by several agencies.
Miners navigate unsafe tunnels with outdated tools, without oxygen systems, helmets, masks and basic gear. Furthermore, they work for 10-12 hours for a meagre, irregular wages.
–IANS
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