No fewer than 34 miners have been confirmed dead after a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in southern Pakistan’s Balochistan province, with rescue teams continuing efforts to locate those still trapped.
The blast occurred on Thursday at a mine near the provincial capital in the resource-rich region, triggering an extensive rescue operation that continued through the night.
“According to information received from the deployed teams, 34 Dead bodies have been recovered,” southern Balochistan’s provincial disaster management authority said in a statement in the early hours of Friday.
“The joint rescue operation is still underway to locate and recover the remaining trapped miners,” it added, without specifying how many workers were inside the mine when the explosion occurred.
Coal mining accidents are a recurring problem in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan, where inadequate safety measures have often been blamed for fatal incidents.
Although rich in natural resources, Balochistan remains Pakistan’s largest and poorest province by land area, trailing much of the country in key indicators such as education, employment and economic development.
