Islamabad, Pakistan — The bodies of four miners were recovered from a collapsed coal mine in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Friday, while rescue teams continue efforts to reach eight others still trapped underground.
Provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind said the miners had been stranded since Thursday evening when a methane gas explosion caused the mine to cave in at Sanjdi, about 40 km from the provincial capital of Quetta.
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“So far four dead bodies of the miners have been recovered during the rescue operation which continued the whole day,” Rind told EFE.
The official said the rescue efforts would continue overnight, but the chances of finding survivors were slim.
“The rescuers are doing their job, but there is very little hope that any miner would still be alive,” he said.
Rind said the Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Mines Department were working to remove debris using heavy machinery.
The trapped miners were reportedly at a depth of over 4,200 feet.
Balochistan holds significant coal reserves, but outdated extraction methods and poor safety measures frequently result in fatal accidents.
Coal mine incidents are common in the impoverished province, where miners often work in dangerous conditions without proper safety protocols.
In June last year, 11 miners died in a gas explosion at the same mine. Earlier, in March, 12 miners were killed and eight others rescued after a similar mine collapse in Harnai district of Balochistan.
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