KOHAT: Two miners were killed and another was injured in a coal mine gas blast in the Karez Honosam area of Orakzai on Saturday, officials said.

Officials of the mines department and Orakzai district police officer rushed to the scene following the incident. Locals told them that three miners were in the mine when accumulation of gas caused the explosion.

A rescue operation was launched and two bodies were retrieved and the injured worker was rescued through a conveyor belt.

The deceased were later identified as Mohammad Alam and Mehat Khan ,while the wounded as Saeed Wali. All of them hailed from Shangla.

The bodies were later shifted to their village while the injured was hospitalised. The blast came as a grim reminder of the Dec 4 tragedy when nine miners died and four others were injured in a mine explosion in Orakzai.

A local official Azam Khan said about 80 deaths had occurred in around 30 mine explosions in Orakzai and tribal subdivision of Darra Adam Khel.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023