Death toll rises to 23 in Quetta mine incidents

QUETTA: At least twenty-three miners were killed and nine others were rescued after two coalmine collapsed in two separate incidents near Marwar and Sooranj area of Quetta district the other day.

Commissioner Quetta Division Jawaid Anwar Shahwani said the first incident occurred in Marwar, 45 kilometer east of Quetta due to a gas explosion after accumulation methane gas when the victims were working inside the coalmine.

About 16 mine workers of dead bodies were pulled out from the coalmine after collapsing mine roof in gas explosion by local rescue teams including law enforcement agencies after hectic efforts under monitoring of provincial officials. Nine workers were rescued at the moment. The bodies and the injured were rushed to Bolan Medical Complex (BMC) hospital where the injured are stated to be in better condition by hospital sources.

The nine of them bodies were identified as Reheem, Muhammad Basheer, Abdul Waheed, Khalid, Nasrullah, Abdulla Khan, Abdul Haq, Liaquat Ai and Abdul Latif.

Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) including Frontier Corps, Levies force and police are were trying to pull out other victims from the coalmines.

Meanwhile, another coalmine collapsed in Sooranj area in which seven miners were killed. Two workers were rescued in an unconscious condition, while bodies of two miners were recovered Saturday night.

The rescue operation continued till Sunday morning in which bodies of five more labourers were found from second damaged of the coalmine. The most of victims were reported to be resident of Swat’s Shangla area.