9 miners killed, 4 injured in Orakzai blast

KALAYA: At least nine miners were killed and four others sustained injuries when a gas explosion occurred inside a coalmine in the Doli area in lower part of Orakzai district on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner, Orakzai, Adnan Farid,

and District Police Officer Nazir Khan said that methane gas had accumulated in the mine, which caused the explosion in Doli area.

They said the mine collapsed due to the explosion, burying the miners under the debris.

Soon after the incident, rescue teams rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies of nine miners and rescued four others in injured condition.

The injured were shifted to hospitals in Kalaya and Kohat for medical treatment According to rescue workers, there were 13 miners working in the coalmine when the explosion occurred.

They said the lease contractor identified as Shoaib Hassan was also among the dead.

The dead and injured belonged to Orakzai and Shangla districts, they added. There are more than 4,000 coalmines in Orakzai tribal district and over 3,000 labourers work there amidst poor conditions. Several deaths are reported in mine collapse incidents in the country every year.