Six colliers killed in Harnai mine blast

Residents had feared the tragedy as rescue teams reached site after 7-hour delay

QUETTA:

Six ill-fated colliers were killed in a coalmine blast in the Harnai district of Balochistan on Saturday.

Local residents told The Express Tribune that all the six unfortunate miners hailed from different parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and were working inside the mine when the explosion occurred in Shah Tarakh Tangi tehsil of Harnai district.

“All of them died after being trapped inside the mine for seven hours as the rescue operation started very late and the miners were without protective gear, so the chances of their survival were quite slim,” they said.

The miners have been identified as Sarfaraz, resident of Shangla; Ghaniur Rehman, resident of Dir; Bacha Khalid, resident of Swat; Rehmanullah, resident of Dir; Najeebullah, resident of Dir and Naseeb Gul, resident of Swat.

As soon as the blast was reported, the Balochistan government directed the departments concerned to take strict measures for the rescue of the miners and the rescuers finally reached them after seven hours of hectic efforts but all of them were long dead.

Earlier, the Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) team reached the site and started a rescue operation to take out the trapped colliers from the coalmine.

Commissioner Sibi Division Shahid Saleem directed the Levies and other officials to ensure their presence on the site and supervise the rescue operation personally.

The medical teams had also reached the site after the commissioner directed doctors to be present outside the coalmine to ensure timely medical treatment to the trapped miners in case of their safe rescue.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili took notice of the incident, directing the mines and mineral department to investigate the matter as soon as the rescue operation ended.

“Investigate the causes of the incident properly and submit a report in this regard to fix responsibility,” the chief minister ordered.

Dozens of ill-fated colliers are killed in explosions and mine collapse incidents across Balochistan each year due to lack of safety measures.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2022.