SHANGLA: Bodies of six more workers, who died in a Balochistan mine blast, were buried in their native towns in Alpuri tehsil here on Tuesday.

The district administration said the bodies, recovered in a six-day operation inDandi area, were brought to Shangla on Tuesday, with most deceased belonging to Pirabad and Basi areas.

It said a total of 10 miners from Shangla had lost lives in the recent Balochistan mine blast, with four of them already laid to rest in Basi and Pirabad areas.

The administration said six bodies were recovered on Monday and dispatched to Shangla.

It said the families received the bodies in the Bely Baba area and took them to the native areas in mini jeeps for burial.

The deceased, including two brothers, were mostly aged 17-30 years and had worked in Balochistan’s Sandi area as coal miners for several months.

The administration identified them as Roshan Zeb, Izharuddin, Mohammad Malik, Amanullah and Numan Khan from Mian Kaly and Pirabad, Wahidullah, Umar Wali and Mohammad Shafi from Basi, and Shumanu Kass, Akbar Ali and Mohammad Luqam from Dehrai Zara.

Spokesperson for the Shangla Coalmine Workers Rights Association Abid Yar told Dawn that the mine incident killed 12 workers, including 10 from Basi and six from Pirabad.

He said at the residents’ request, opposition leader in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Dr Ibadullah Khan visited the Balochistan mine, met with the chief minister, and got the mine owner booked on the complaint of chief mine inspector Abdur Rasheed.

Dr Ibadullah, who was also present on the occasion, said there would be zero tolerance for illegal and insecure coal mines as they threatened the lives of workers from his constituency.

He said he pushed the Balochistan chief minister for a crackdown on illegal and unsafe mining.

The opposition leader said hundreds of people lost lives in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa coal mine incidents due to lack of facilities and negligence of mine operators.

He said the coalmining must be made secure and ensure safety of workers at their workplace and strict action to be taken against authorities.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2025