Workers lower the body of a colleague onto a stretcher during a rescue operation at a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta on Thursday. – Photo by AFP

QUETTA: Five mine workers were killed on Thursday when a gas explosion occurred in a coal mine in Mastung, Balochistan, DawnNews reported.

The coal mine was located 60 kilometer away from Quetta in Mastung’s Khoshab district.

According to sources, mine was filled with leaked gas which caused the explosion.

Eight workers were trapped inside the mine after the blast. Other workers outside the mine rescued three while five workers succumbed to their wounds.

Local administrative and rescue workers were not present on the spot immediately after the explosion and mine workers along with local residents had to recover the dead bodies.

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