KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 32 miners have been killed and 10 others remain trapped underground following an explosion at a coal mine in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
According to the Associated Press, the explosion occurred on Thursday on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital.
Ghani Baloch, a government mines inspector, said preliminary findings indicate that the blast was likely caused by a buildup of methane gas inside the mine.
The report said the bodies of seven miners were recovered within hours of the explosion, while rescue teams later retrieved the bodies of 25 more victims.
In a statement, provincial authorities and Balochistan’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said search and rescue operations remain underway, with emergency teams working to locate and extract the miners still trapped underground.
Baloch said the rescue operation would continue until all those trapped had been accounted for. However, officials warned that the death toll could rise as the operation progresses.
He added that the chances of finding survivors diminish significantly after a methane gas explosion because oxygen levels inside the mine can fall to near zero, forcing rescue teams to proceed with extreme caution.
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