Coalmine explosion in Kohat leaves nine miners dead

KOHAT: A coalmine explosion in a village of Kohat district on Wednesday killed nine miners working inside the mine.

Th blast occurred in a coalmine at Akhorwal village claimed the lives of nine laborers. Two others were injured in the incident.

Pakistan army was called on the site for the rescue operation.

Deputy Commissioner Kohat Khalid Ilyas informed that during the incident, 11 miners were present inside the mine and nine of them were killed at the spot, whereas two injured have been shifted to the Civil Hospital.

According to sources, the gas in the coalmine caused the explosion, which  was resulted in collapse of a shelf of the mine. The rescue operation had been launched shortly after the blast, with officers investigating the incident.

According to media reports citing officials, two seriously wounded workers had been pulled out of the mine along with the bodies of nine miners.

A senior local police official, Muhammad Ejaz, confirmed the incident and said they were investigating it.

Poor working conditions in coal mines in various areas of the country claim the lives of miners on a regular basis but often go unreported.

Coal mining is deemed much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, leakage or explosion of poisonous gases and coal dust, collapsing of mine shelves or general mechanical errors from improper use and malfunctioning of mining equipment.

According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation, between 100 and 200 labourers die on average in lethal coal mine mishaps every year.