32 dead as gas blast rips through Quetta coal mine

Shangla mourns 28 sons lost in single village tragedy Families forced to bring bodies home in van at own cost 

At least 32 bodies were recovered overnight from two coal mines in the Sorange coalfield near Quetta after a methane gas explosion tore through the site. The search for two more miners continued on Friday, an official told Dawn.

The explosion took place on Thursday at a private coal mine in the Sorange coalfield, about 30 kilometres northeast of Quetta. The methane gas blast set off a fire, caused the mine to collapse, and also affected a nearby mine.

Chief Inspector of Mines Balochistan Muhammad Atif told Dawn that 34 miners were inside the two mines at the time of the explosion. He said that so far 32 bodies had been recovered from both mines, and that the operation to recover the remaining two miners was continuing in the mine where the explosion originally took place.

Officials said the explosion happened on Thursday afternoon while 24 miners were working around 4,000 feet underground in the first mine. A fire broke out soon after the blast, causing parts of the mine structure to collapse. The sound of the explosion was heard across a wide area of Sorange.

A second, nearby mine was also badly affected. Twelve miners were working inside this mine when the explosion occurred. Mining engineers and workers built alternative routes to reach both affected mines, but large amounts of methane gas along with the ongoing fire made it extremely difficult to reach the bodies and the miners still trapped deep underground.

Provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals Mir Shoaib Nosherwani announced that the provincial government will pay Rs500,000 in compensation to the family of each miner who died, and Rs300,000 to every injured worker. He said an inquiry into the incident would also be carried out.

This is not the first such tragedy in the region. In June, three people were injured when explosive material used in mining accidentally went off in Quetta division’s Khanuzai area. In April, at least five coal miners were killed in two separate accidents in the Bolan and Duki coalfield areas.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district is mourning the loss of 28 young coal miners who died in the blast, including 23 residents of a single village, Mian Kaly. The Shangla Coal Mine Workers Association said that almost every household in Mian Kaly is now grieving the loss of a family member.

Abid Yaar, president of the association, said Mian Kaly has become the centre of repeated coal mine tragedies. He said that of the 28 deceased workers from Shangla district, 23 were from Mian Kaly, also known as Pir Abad, two were from Kana, and one each came from Bada and Gata Bely Baba.

He said the victims were between 17 and 25 years old, and many belonged to the same families, being cousins or close relatives. He added that several of the dead were orphans whose fathers had also died in earlier coal mine accidents.

Yaar alleged that the tragedy was caused by negligence on the part of the mine administration and a lack of basic safety measures. He claimed there was no proper ventilation system in the government run mine, which led to the deadly gas explosion.

He said this was not just an accident but a lifelong trauma for the families, orphans, widows and mothers who lost their loved ones. He said these young men had gone to work in the mine only to earn a living and support their families back home.

He also said that Shangla lacks factories and other skilled job opportunities, which forces young people to risk their lives in dangerous coal mines just to make ends meet.

Family members of the victims criticised the government for failing to arrange ambulances to transport the bodies home. They said they had to bring the remains back in a van at their own expense. According to the Shangla administration, one body arrived on Friday evening, with the rest expected to arrive later that night and early Saturday morning. Three of the miners who died in the tragedy were brothers.