QUETTA: Seven coal-miners burned to death in a huge fire triggered by methane gas blast in a mine in Harnai district of Balochis­tan, officials said on Tuesday.

It is the second incident in the province within the last few days that has claimed precious lives. On March 12, six coalminers were killed in similar circumstances in a coalmine in Marwar area of Bolan district.

Deputy Commissioner of Harnai District Sohail Anwar Hashmi told Dawn that methane gas had accumulated in a coalmine in the Torghar gas field area of the district, which caused a huge blast and fire inside the mine, trapping the workers busy in their work inside the mine.

“Rescue workers on Tuesday morning recovered bodies of the seven coalminers who were burnt to death after a huge fire broke out, triggered by the blast,” Chief Inspector of Mines Shafqat Fayyaz said, adding that a big portion of the mine caved in as a result of the blast.

Rescue workers faced difficulty in retrieving the bodies of the trapped miners due to the fire and presence of methane gas in the mine.

The mine has been closed and a probe ordered into the incident. Bodies of the miners were sent to their native towns for burial.

Over two dozen miners have died in three fatal incidents in different mines in the province within a month. Though the Mines and Mineral Department ordered investigations into two earlier incidents, no report has been submitted to authorities concerned so far.

Last year, 102 coal miners were killed in Balochistan in 72 different incidents, according to Sultan Muhammad Lala, president of the Balochistan Coal Mines Workers Federation, according to news agencies.

Lacking proper safety measures in the mines, workers have repeatedly been killed in explosions caused by the accumulation of methane gas. At least 27 workers died in two separate incidents in Balochistan in 2018, and 45 were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in 2011 in the province.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2021