More than a dozen miners are trapped while two were killed following an explosion in a mine in Balochistan’s district Quetta on Sunday.
According to the details received by The Balochistan Post, at least two miners were killed while 13 others are trapped following a gas explosion inside a coal mine in Quetta’s Sinjidi area on Sunday.
As claimed by the Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of two miners and are currently trying to retrieve the miners trapped inside the coal mine. However, nothing can be said about their chances of survival.
Coal mines in Balochistan are some of the most dangerous workplaces in the world as frequent accident kill a large number of workers. Coalmines, majority of which are directly or indirectly operated by state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) and Pakistani Petroleum Limited, have non-existent health and safety policies and measures.
According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF), between 100 and 200 labors die on average in coal mine accidents every year.
Many international organisations working for worker rights have strongly condemned Pakistan for the complete absence of an effective occupational health and safety policy in the country, which has resulted in the deaths of a large number of workers in industries, particularly in coal mines.