The death toll in Sanjdi mine collapse incident rose to 14 on Thursday when two bodies were pulled out from the debris during the rescue operation.
Reportedly, the Balochistan’s Chief Inspector of Mines Iftikhar Ahmed said that the rescue work had been halted a day before due to the high amount of poisonous methane gas which accumulated in the coalmine.
Meanwhile, bodies of five workers were still trapped in the coalmine while nine bodies were retrieved on August 13.
Thirteen labourers were working in the 400-foot-deep mine when its major portion collapsed in a gas explosion on Sunday. All the 13 miners were trapped under the rubble when rescue teams and officials of the mines and minerals department rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation.
However, they had to suspend the rescue operation in the evening till Monday morning.
Five volunteers managed to enter the mine on Monday to rescue others and retrieve the bodies. However, two of them died during the rescue operation due to the presence of poisonous gas in the mine
According to the Quetta Deputy Commissioner Captain (Retd) Tahir Zafar Abbasi, the actual cause of the explosion was yet unknown. The workers were in a tunnel at a depth of nearly 4,000 feet.
Several fatal accidents in the coalmines in the recent past urge the need for effective labour protection measures in Pakistan. Many workers have lost their lives or suffered a physical disability while working in the mines.
On June 3, four labourers died after getting trapped under the debris following a gas explosion in a mine in the same area of Sanjdi.
On May 6, at least 23 miners were killed when two coal mines collapsed near Quetta. In another coal mine collapse in Sooranj area, seven miners lost their lives while two were rescued in unconscious state, and bodies of two other miners were recovered later.
Published in Daily Times, August 17th 2018.
