QUETTA: At least 12 coal miners were trapped inside a mine after an explosion caused by methane gas in the Sanjdi coal field area, around 40 kilometres southeast of Quetta.

Accidents in coal mines are a frequent occurrence in Balochistan, where safety procedures are flouted by mine owners and miners are forced to work in perilous conditions.

Officials said the explosion took place on Thursday evening when a dozen miners digging coal deep inside the mine.

Balochistan Chief Inspector of Mines Abdul Ghani Baloch said teams were on the site to rescue the miners trapped around 4,000 feet deep inside the mine.

Mine collapses after blast; workers were digging at depth of 4,000 feet

“We have sent three teams comprising mining engineers and other rescue staff,” Mr Baloch said, adding that the rescuers were removing the debris to enter the mine.

He added that the mine completely collapsed after the explosion, which was caused by the accumulation of methane gas.

The presence of methane gas inside the mine was hampering rescue efforts. “We are trying to enter the mine through an alternate way and release the accumulated gas,” the chief inspector of mines told Dawn.

Shahid Rind, the Balochistan government spokesman, said rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the site following the incident.

The provincial minister for Mineral Resources and Finance, Mir Shoaib Nosherwani, took notice of the incident and instructed the chief inspector of mines to send additional rescue teams to the accident site.

He also ordered an investigation into the alleged violation of standard operating procedures by the mine owner.

Mr Nosherwani emphasised that no mine owner should be considered above the law, and if violations of mining regulations were found, strict legal action would be taken against the mine owner.

The minister also instructed the Mines Department to ensure safety measures are in place to prevent such accidents in the future and to provide modern safety facilities inside mines.

He affirmed that the government will take every possible action to protect workers and their rights.

Successive governments have made similar proclamations in following similar accidents in the past, but the regulatory mechanism to prevent the death of miners has yet to be strengthened.

A report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 2023 pointed out that health and safety standards were seldom put in place in these mines “primarily because of sporadic and irregular mine inspections”.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2025