QUETTA: Ten bodies were retrieved from a coal mine in the Sanjdi area a day after its major portion collapsed while three volunt­eers, who went into the mine in an attempt to rescue over a dozen trapped miners, were shifted to hospital in a critical condition.

At least five people are still trapped in the coal mine as hope for their chances of survival fades due to presence of poisonous methane gas in the mine.

Thirteen labourers were working in the 400-foot-deep mine when its major portion collapsed in a gas explosion on Sunday. All the 13 miners were trapped under the rubble when rescue teams and officials of the mines and minerals department rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation. However, they had to suspend the rescue operation in the evening till Monday morning.

Five volunteers managed to enter the mine on Monday to rescue others and retrieve the bodies. However, two of them died during the rescue operation due to the presence of poisonous gas in the mine, said Quetta Commissioner Hashim Khan Ghilzai.

In the daylong operation, the bodies of eight of the 13 miners were retrieved, he said, while three other volunteers were shifted to Quetta Civil Hospital where doctors termed their condition critical.

Earlier, Chief Inspector (mines) Iftikhar Ahmed said: “Rescue teams have recovered eight bodies so far.” He told Dawn that the bodies recovered from the mine were found burnt. “Serious burn injuries were found on the bodies of coal miners who were recovered from the mine,” he said, adding that the rescue workers and mining staff were making efforts to recover the remaining bodies.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2018