Gloom in Shangla over Balochistan mine tragedy

ALPURI: An atmosphere of gloom prevailed in Shangla as another 10 men from the far-off district were feared dead in the coal mine tragedy in Balochistan the day before.

A coal mine collapsed on Thursday due to the presence of poisonous methane gas, trapping 12 workers, 10 of whom were from Shangla, including two brothers. The incident occurred near the provincial capital of Quetta, about 40 kilometers from the city, at the Sanjidi coalmine.

The workers were trapped more than 6,000 feet underground and were feared to be dead due to the intensity of the tragedy.It was learned that the workers were working underground when an explosion of toxic methane gas caused a fire, leading to a collapse that buried the miners.

The Shangla mine workers included Roshan Zaib, son of Bakht Zameen; Azharuddin, son of Syedan Gul; Muhammad Yamilk, son of Maizer; Amanullah, son of Muhammad Sultan; Nauman, son of Aziz-ul-Bahr; Muhammad Shafiq, son of Hamesh Gul; Umar Wali, son of Ghulam Habib; Wahid Zaman, son of Muhammad Yousaf; Nizamuddin, son of Muhammad Yousaf and Akbar Allah. Experts from the coalmine industry stated that the chances of the trapped miners surviving were almost nonexistent, as it had been over 30 hours since the incident, and they were more than 6,000 feet underground.

Shangla workers frequently fall victim to such tragic accidents. Previously, three workers from the district were killed in a mining accident in Dara Adamkhel, and another three lost their lives in a coal mine in Punjab.