Balochistan coal mines attack claims 20 lives

DUKI: Death toll in Duki coal mines attack has jumped to 20, ARY News reported on Friday, citing hospital authorities.

As per details, armed men with rockets and hand grenades attacked coal mines in the Duki district of Balochistan left at least 20 miners dead and several injured.

The deceased and injured have been transported to local hospitals. Police confirmed that the victims hailed from various regions, including Pishin, Qilla Saifullah, Zhob, Muslim Bagh, Musa Khel, Quetta, and Afghanistan.

According to police, the attackers gathered the miners into groups before opening fire. SHO Humayun Khan stated that all of the deceased and injured were Pashtun.

Balochistan has witnessed several terrorist attacks against ordinary labourer or wage earners in recent months but those primarily targeted people from the Punjab province.

Earlier, the blast in the Harnai coal mine took place on March 19 and claimed the lives of 12 miners and injured six others.

The findings of the report held the owner and the contractor of the coal mine responsible for the deadly blast. The report further said the mine was closed for 6 months and after reopening no officials were deployed to check the level of gas in the mine that caused the incident.

There was not a single piece of equipment available in the mine to check the level of gas in the mine and no alternate ways were there for discharging gas from the mine.