Unsafe workplace: Coal mine blast claims two lives in Hangu

Most of the mines are near exhaustion and sophisticated machinery is needed to extract more coal.

HANGU:

An explosion inside a coal mine in Tora Wari of Hangu district killed two miners and injured two others on Tuesday.

Sher Afzal, the owner of the mine, told the Doaba police that six labourers were working when the incident occurred. Two of them, however, had just stepped outside and were safe.

SHO Rahim Khan visited the mine following the explosion and told The Express Tribune that other labourers working in nearby mines rushed to the site when they heard the blast. They could not rescue the workers due to the lack of equipment. Later, the four men were taken to the Thal Tehsil Headquarters Hospital by rescue teams.

Two of the miners identified as Inamullah and Muhammad Sarwar died in the hospital while Usman Zar and Amir Zaman are in critical condition.

A district government official familiar with the matter said that the administration had directed mine owners to provide basic facilities and ensure safety measures to reduce such incidents. Such directives are often ignored, however, which is why incidents like this reoccur, he said.

Most mines are near exhaustion, the official said, adding “To dig out more coal, sophisticated machinery is needed and the owners cannot afford it.”

Previously on October 14, a coal miner was killed and two injured in a mine explosion in D0li, Orakzai Agency. Workers also die by inhaling toxic fumes in the mines.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2012.