Coal Mine Blast Kills 7 Workers in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – A methane gas explosion at a coal mine in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province has killed at least seven people, officials say.

Date: 21 February 2015 - 20:57

News ID: ۱۱۱۸۸

The accident took place in Loralai district’s Dukki town, located some 145 kilometers off the provincial capital of Quetta.
Rasheed Abro, a senior coalmine inspector, said on Friday that victims had died from suffocation.
"A poisonous gas penetrated inside the coal mine causing the death of seven miners," Pakistan’s English-language newspaper Dawn quoted Abro as saying on Friday.
Sources say the mine in the remote region of the province was poorly ventilated, leading to the accumulation of gas.
Also in early January, at least 12 workers were killed in a marble mine collapse in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern tribal region near the border with Afghanistan.
Most mines in Pakistan are notorious for poor safety standards and facilities. Mine owners often compromise protective measures, and the number of deadly accidents is relatively high.
The unsafe practices of miners often go unchecked and accidents are mostly not recorded.