ISLAMABAD: Ali Amin Gandapur, chief minister of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said on Saturday that 10 residents of his province were among 12 workers killed in a coal mine collapse in the country’s southwest.
The mine in the Sanjdi coal field in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province collapsed after a methane gas explosion on Thursday and a dozen miners were trapped inside it, according to the Balochistan mining department.
Rescue teams from the Balochistan mining department and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) recovered bodies of four miners on Friday, following an hours-long effort.
In a statement issued from his office, CM Gandapur said ten of the deceased miners hailed from the Shangla district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“We share the grief of the bereaved families,” the chief minister was quoted as saying by his office.
On Friday, Balochistan Chief Mines Inspector Abdul Ghani said the workers had been digging coal at 4,000 feet inside the mine, adding that the entire mine had caved in due to the intensity of the gas explosion.
“The mining department will conduct a thorough investigation to assess what kind of safety measures were put in place by the private mine owners,” he told Arab News.
Mines in Balochistan, which are operated by private companies under lease agreements with the government, are known for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards, where deadly incidents are not uncommon.
At least 82 coal miners working on different projects were killed in Balochistan in 46 accidents last year, according to the Balochistan mining department.
Northwestern Pakistani province says 10 workers killed in coal mine collapse in country’s southwest
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Northwestern Pakistani province says 10 workers killed in coal mine collapse in country’s southwest

- The mine in Sanjdi coal field in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province collapsed after a methane gas explosion on Thursday
- Mines in Balochistan are known for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards, where deadly incidents are not uncommon