Islamabad: Two miners were killed and another injured in two separate coal mine incidents in Shangla district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported on Thursday.
The first incident took place at Mine No 5 of Akhorwal coal mines. The sources revealed two workers were buried during debris during operations in the mine. Rescue teams, fellow miners and local residents retrieved the trapped workers after working for nearly two and a half hours, Pakistan’s leading daily The Express Tribune reported. The deceased miner and injured worker hailed from Shangla district.
In a separate incident, a miner died while working in a coal mine in Chaparmashti area. The body of the deceased worker was taken to his native village for last rites after conducting necessary formalities.
Local residents and labour organisations have voiced serious concern over the lack of safety measures in Pakistan’s coal mines and called on the government and authorities to take notice of the issue. People in the area termed recurring accidents in coal mines a constant threat to the lives of labourers. They called for strict implementation of safety measures in all mines to stop the loss of human lives in the future, The Express Tribune reported.
Last month, five coal miners were killed and another injured in two separate mining accidents in Bolan and Duki coalfield areas of Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Officials said three miners died after they were trapped underground while methane gas accumulated in a coal mine in the Bolan coal mining field near Mach area. Other miners were able to escape from the affected mine and informed authorities about the incident, Pakistan’s Dawn reported.
Rescue teams from the Mines and Minerals Department and local workers started an operation to rescue trapped miners. However, the miners had died due to suffocation caused by inhaling methane gas. The bodies of workers were found in the mine and taken to the hospital.
In a separate incident, two coal miners were killed and another was injured in an accident in the Duki coal mining area, Dawn reported.
Police said that three coal miners were seriously injured after a trolley carrying coal hit them. They were immediately rushed to the hospital, where two miners succumbed to their injuries.
(IANS)
