File photo of a coal mine in Balochistan

Quetta: 6 dead bodies of coal miners retrieved

Ayub Tareen, Mir Salam Jogezai 

Rescue workers retrieved 6 dead bodies of coal miners trapped inside a mine in Quetta district’s Marwar area. Coal miners trapped inside a mine when a portion of it collapsed. “All six dead bodies retrieved from the mine”, Naseer Ahmed Nasar, the Director-General Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said.

The coal miners were working 700 to 800 square feet in depth inside the mine when methane gas triggered a blast. A total of 8 miners trapped in the aftermath of the blast, Mr. Nasar informed.

2 coal miners rescued

Rescue workers rescued two miners from the mine and shifted them to a hospital for medical treatment. The victims belonged to the Muslim Bagh and Chaman areas of the province. Dead bodies of the dead miners dispatched to their homes, the DG PDMA said.

“These mines turned into death holes”, Sultan Muhammad Khan, the central leader of mines labour federation lamented.

208 coal miners died in 2020 in such incidents 

Mr Khan claimed mines incidents claimed the lives of 43 coal miners including 11 Hazara coal miners in the current year. In 2020, coal mines incidents claimed 208 lives of miners in Sorange, Marwar, Dukki, Mach, Harnai and other parts of Balochistan, he asserted.

Hazardous working conditions claiming precious human lives 

Hazardous working conditions have claimed thousands of precious human lives inside coal mines of Balochistan, which houses rich-coal reservoirs. Almost with no safety, the miners enter into mines in the morning and extract coal for a whole day. Fortunate are those who come out alive in the evening. As per the 1923 mines act, the inspector of mines is bound to inspect the mine in the morning prior to the entry of miners. Similarly, children, minor boys, and women are not allowed to step inside the mine according to the act.

Quetta: 6 dead bodies of coal miners retrieved

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Quetta Voice is an English Daily covering all unfolding political, economic and social issues relating to Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province in terms of area. QV's main focus is on stories related to education, promotion of quality education and publishing reports about out of school children in the province. QV has also a vigilant eye on health, climate change and other key sectors.