Three killed and 2 others fainted in a coal mine in Chamalang area of Balochistan on Sunday.
According to details received by The Balochistan Post, Three miners lost their lives while two others lost conscience as gas filled in hundreds of feet deep mine.
‘Five miners lost their conscience due to gas, on which other miners reacted fast and tried to rescue their fellow workers but during the process 3 miners lost their lives, while two other miners were taken to the hospital,’ police said.
The deceased in the incident have been identified as, Abdul Rehman s/o Mohammed Khan, Akhter Mohammed s/o Karam Khan and Qutub-ul- deen s/o Sultan.
Dead bodies have been sent to the native towns of deceased, Qila Saifullah and Zhob areas of Balochistan.
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.