'No survivors in Sorange mine collapse'

All 45 workers trapped in Sorange mine dead, efforts underway to recover bodies.


Express/afp/shahzad Baloch March 21, 2011

QUETTA:


The death toll from a coal mine collapse in Sorange, Balochistan rose to 45 on Monday with officials announcing that there were no survivors.

According to Express 24/7 correspondent Mohammad Kazim, Balochistan provincial Minister for Irrigation and Power Sardar Aslam Bizenjo said that all 45 workers trapped in the Sorange mine had died.

Bizenjo made this announcement after visiting the mine site, reports Kazim.

Efforts are being made to recover all the bodies from the mine.

The mine in the far-flung Sorange district of the troubled southwestern province was poorly ventilated, allowing poisonous gases to accumulate and trigger blasts which led to the collapse on Sunday, officials said.

Rescue workers retrieved 10 bodies on Sunday. "They had severe burns, which means that the blasts also caused a fire," Mohammad Iftikhar, provincial chief inspector of mines, told AFP overnight. He had earlier said the victims died of suffocation.

Balochistan's home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani had earlier said the missing workers were unlikely to receive enough oxygen to survive. Rescue work, which had to be briefly stopped on Sunday because some of the emergency crew were knocked unconscious by the noxious fumes, had resumed and military experts and engineers had been called in to help, Raisani said.

Updated from print edition (below)

19 dead as mine collapses


At least 19 miners were killed and more than 30 others were trapped and feared dead after a coalmine caved in due to explosions caused by accumulation of methane gas in Sorange, about 30 kilometres from Quetta in the early hours of Sunday morning.


The mine is owned by the government-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC). Its management had been warned 15 days earlier by the government of the danger of an explosion due to an accumulation of methane gas and told to stop mining.

As many as 53 miners were working in depth of 4,000 meters in the coalmine when explosions took place causing a collapse. Rescue work was delayed because the equipment for emergency services was not available near the mine and had to be transported from Quetta.

However, the miners of nearby coalmines rushed to help their trapped colleagues and started rescue work on their own.

After several hours, they were able to retrieve nine dead bodies and rescue four miners alive. The rescued miners were deeply traumatised and not fully cogent when they came out.

“More than 30 miners are still trapped underground and efforts are underway to get them out. However, there are less hopes for their survival,” an official said.

Senior provincial government officials, including Urban Development Minister Ismail Gujar, rushed to the site and later the military also joined the rescue operation.

“Three explosions occurred in the coalmine which have resulted in collapse of the coalmine,” said Mohammad Sharif, a rescue worker.

As of the filing of this story, rescue work was still ongoing. Relief work has been slow due to a lack of experience on the part of the rescue workers, who are employees of the Metropolitan Corporation Quetta working without any specialised equipment.

“Most of the equipment are outdated and are no longer
in use or relevant,” said an official of mines department on the condition of anonymity.

There is also the danger of more explosions in the mine.

“There is still methane gas in the coalmine which hinders the rescue operation,” said one rescue worker.

Balochistan Mining Secretary Mushtaq Raisani said that an investigation will be launched into the
incident to determine who was responsible for the accident.

“Why did they not stop the mining despite the [government] warning? Whoever is found to have been negligent of their responsibilities will face criminal charges,” said Raisani.

According to sources at the Balochistan Mines and Mineral Department, PMDC had sublet the coalmine to a private contractor in violation of the Balochistan Mineral Rules 2002, which do not allow any firm to sublet any mine.

“There are several other coalmines that firms had sublet to private contractors. The mines inspectors do not take any action or ensure the safety and protection of the labourers,” said one mine department source.

There are more than 60,000 miners working in approximately 2,200 mines, most of which do not take adequate safety measures resulting in accidents like this one, according to mining department officials.

The president of the mines’ labour union, Bakht Nawab, said that they have been
demanding from the
government to provide labourers with safety equipment in order to protect their lives for the past three years but their efforts have been in vain.

“Miners are not even provided safety lights and gas detector,” said Nawab. “They are being treated like animals.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2011.

COMMENTS (24)

omer | 12 years ago | Reply @Proud Baloch: is Army and ISI behind killing of innocent punjabis in balochistan ? is Army and ISI behind killing of teachers and doctors in balochistan ? is Army and ISI behind killing of 11 innocent people in gwadar ? is Army and ISI behind daily explosins of gas pipelines and electricity pilons ? dont you think bit of soul searching is required ? and trust me no 1971 would happen again. it only happened because of the distance between two parts. balochistsn is Pakistan and would remain Pakistan. new nation states are out of fashion mate :) you say there are no schools or universities in balochistan, well whatever remains, your people dont even let them being run properly by killing teachers. so much for "i care for my people and want them to be educated" attitude.
Bixenjo | 12 years ago | Reply @Omer I have replied you 2 long posts but for my dismay they didn't uploaded ..Hell Frustrated:@. The people in this incident were Pashtuns but gimme a reason why army should be praised here? Did they save anyone ? does it worth praising? And We never demand any help from army we'd rather prefer death than any sort of help from Pakistani who calls us Traitor. Neither labeling traitor not blaming India or others heal the atrocities of past 65 years. I am not against Pakistan but I am afraid more than 70% Balochs are. And sometimes I too feel to be against because of the people like you. Army is for safeguard of citizens but in our region it is contrary ,we keep guns for our safety from army. We are getting tortured and dead bodies on daily basis http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/03/inside-story-baloch-political-prisoners.html http://videos.sify.com/Rights-groups-concerned-about-missing-Baloch-people-ANI-watch-ldhs4jdjddi.html * check out the links I have provided .. More than 100 dead bodies of Baloch youth recovered in 4 months. Still you want us to be a proud Pakistani ? *@Your last comment against Anne Give me a break man you still talk about being patriot you gotta be kidding. If you can't find any solution do not be a reason to break Balochistan. You people labeled Bengalis as traitors .. do not try to repeat the history. there are still many Baloch who want to be a part of Pakistan do not be reason to change their mind . Hope this time it'll be uploaded:@..
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