QUETTA: Eight workers were kidnapped from a coal field in Harnai district on Wednesday.

More than 10 armed men stormed a camp of a private company in Shahrag area early in the morning, awakened the eight sleeping workers and whisked them away.

The labourers belong to Shangla area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most miners working in Balochistan hail from the province, particularly from Swat.

According to a district administration official, security forces rushed to the place and launched a search operation in the mountainous area but without any success.

“No group or organisation has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping,” he said. He added that a banned militant outfit could be involved in the incident.

Since the beginning of Baloch militancy, several incidents of kidnapping of mine workers have taken place in and Shahrag, Degari, Sourrange and Mach.

In July last year, militants kidnapped and killed eight workers.