Twelve miners were trapped Thursday after an explosion caused a coal mine to collapse on the outskirts of Quetta, authorities said.
talking to sunrise.comMines chief Abdul Ghani Baloch said a gas explosion caused the collapse from inside a coal mine in the Sanjdi area. “An operation has been launched to remove the miners. “Efforts are being made to get all the miners out alive,” he said.
After three hours, Baloch provided an update to sunrise.com stating that no miner had been removed, but that efforts were being made to remove them.
Meanwhile, in an official statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind acknowledged the collapse and said rescue teams had reached the spot.
“There are reports that twelve workers were trapped in the mine,” Rind added.
Balochistan Mining and Minerals Minister Mir Shoaib Noshirwani ordered Director of Mines Baloch to send two more teams to participate in the rescue operations.
“If existing mining procedures are violated, legal action should be taken against the mine owner,” Noshirwani warned, ordering rescuers to accelerate efforts to remove the trapped miners.
“Strict implementation of safety measures in mines must be ensured to protect workers,” he added.
Accidents are common in the country’s coal mines, mainly due to the accumulation of gas.
Mine workers have complained that a lack of safety equipment and poor working conditions are key causes of frequent accidents, as union leaders have done in the past.
In June last year, at least 11 people died after inhaling methane gas inside a coal mine in the Sanjdi area, about 50 kilometers from Quetta. Among the victims were nine coal miners, the director of a coal company and a contractor.
“Coal miners were working about 1,500 feet down in the mine when the gas eruption began and spread rapidly through the site. All the coal miners were unconscious,” said Abdul Ghani Shahwani, chief inspector of mines in Balochistan. Sunrise.
The next day, the mine owner was booked for alleged negligence. The case registered following the complaint of the Balochistan government also accused officials of not ensuring compliance with safety norms by the miner.
With contributions from Reuters.
