QUETTA: At least 11 people died after inhaling methane gas inside a coal mine in the Sanjdi area, some 50km from Quetta, on Monday.

The victims include nine coal miners, a coal company manager and a contractor.

“The coal miners were working around 1,500 feet deep in the mine when the gas eruption started and quickly spread to the place. All the coal miners fell unconscious,” Abdul Ghani Shahwani, Chief Inspector of Mines in Balochistan, told Dawn.

He said these workers along with a contractor and manager went inside the mine at around 5pm and after one and a half hours it was noted that there was no signal coming from inside the mine.

Rescue teams from the Mines Department rushed to the site. When rescuers reached inside the mine after taking safety measures and ventilating the gas nobody was found alive.

Two miners shot dead in separate incident

“All the nine miners and two others were found dead deep inside the mine,” the official said, adding that the bodies were shifted to a nearby health facility where doctors confirmed their death.

The chief inspector said the mine belonged to the United Coal mining company and that all the miners who lost their lives came from Swat. The coal mine has been sealed and an inquiry ordered into the incident.

Gunned down

Two coal miners were killed in a gun attack in Duki district on Sunday night, officials said.

Karimullah and Abdul Naeem, who belonged to the Suleman Khel tribe, were killed while Fazal Rahman was injured in the attack, Additional SHO Akhtar Jan Hasni said on Monday, adding that the attackers also used hand grenades.

The private security guards, who were deployed in the area, returned fire and after an exchange of fire the attackers disappeared into in the nearby mountains.

Later, enraged people carrying the bodies held a protest rally and a sit-in in front of the DC office.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2024