SHANGLA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district is mourning the deaths of 28 young coal miners, including 23 residents of Mian Kaly, who were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta on Thursday.

The Shangla Coal Mine Workers Association said that following the deaths of 23 miners from Mian Kaly, almost every household in the village was mourning the loss of a family member.

Abid Yaar, president of the Shangla Coal Mine Workers Association, said that Mian Kaly had become the epicentre of repeated coal mine tragedies.

“A total of 28 deceased workers were from Shangla district — 23 from Mian Kaly (Pir Abad), two from Kana, and one each from Bada and Gata Bely Baba,” he said.

He added that the victims, aged between 17 and 25, belonged to the same families and were cousins or close relatives. According to Yaar, several of the deceased were orphans whose fathers had also lost their lives in previous coal mine accidents.

He alleged that the tragedy resulted from the mine administration’s negligence and the absence of essential safety measures, claiming that there was no proper ventilation system in the government-run mine, which led to the deadly gas explosion.

“It is not just an accident but a lifelong trauma for the families, orphans, widows and mothers who lost their loved ones. These young men had gone there only to earn a livelihood and support their families back home,” Yaar said.

Responding to a question, he noted that Shangla lacked factories and other opportunities for skilled employment, forcing young people to work in hazardous coal mines and risk their lives to make ends meet.

The victims’ family members criticised the government for not arranging ambulances to transport their loved ones’ bodies, adding that they had to bring the remains in a van at their own expense.

According to the Shangla administration, one body arrived on Friday evening, with the others expected to arrive later at night and early on Saturday morning.

Three of the miners who lost their lives in the tragedy were brothers.

Earlier today, rescue teams recovered 32 bodies overnight from two coal mines in the Sorange coalfield near Quetta after a methane gas explosion, while the search for two more miners was underway.

The explosion occurred on Thursday at a private coal mine in the Sorange coalfield, about 30 kilometres northeast of Quetta. The methane gas explosion triggered a fire, caused the mine to collapse, and affected another nearby mine.

Chief Inspector of Mines Balochistan Muhammad Atif told Dawn that 34 miners were inside the two mines when the explosion occurred.

“So far, 32 bodies have been recovered from both mines,” he said. “The operation is continuing in the mine where the explosion took place to recover two miners.”

The explosion severely affected another mine near the main site, with 12 miners working in the second mine at the time.

In June, at least three people were injured after explosive material used in mining accidentally detonated in the Khanuzai area.

In April, at least five coal miners were killed in two separate mine accidents that took place in the Bolan and Duki coalfield areas of Balochistan.