KOHAT: A gas explosion trapped 33 miners in a coalmine in Orakzai Agency on Saturday.

According to officials of the political administration, rescue workers were trying to dig out the mud which fell onto the mine after a landslide triggered by the blast. The scene of the accident lies 55km to the northwest of Kohat.

A rescue team and tribesmen tried their best to remove the mud with shovels as no machinery was available.

Rescue workers pull out 18 miners alive

An official said 18 miners, who were near the entrance to the mine, had been pulled out. However, eight of them were taken to the agency headquarters hospital because their condition was serious.

He was not sure about the number of miners who were stuck under the mud inside the mine, but said a cautious estimate put the figure between 25 and 33.

According to local people, more than 40 people were inside the coalmine when the blast took place.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2016