Fuel and fortune: 8 coalminers killed in toxic gas leak
Workers of the Qudrati mines stage protest against contractor.
QUETTA:
The owner’s greed to extract more coal from a mine has led to the deaths of eight workers in Loralai.
The men suffocated to death in the toxic gas leak in an Akbar Nasir Coal Company coalmine that is located in the Qudrati area of Duki. The mine had been closed off for the past six months since the specific quantity of coal had already been extracted, according to Taza Khan, a contractor in Loralai.
However, the owner ordered the miners to extract more. Khan explained that to get more coal from ‘dead’ mines, a fire is lit inside it. The workers went into the mine late Sunday night and lit a fire, which produced the toxic gas.
According to sources, around 10 coalminers were working there. Two workers fell unconscious and the others died. The deceased, identified as Mehrab Khan, Siraj Akbar, Khan Zamin, Shakir, Hazrat Ali, Hakumran, Samiullah and Bhakt Zaman, belonged to Puren tehsil of Shangla, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Loralai Deputy Commissioner Mateen Achkzai told The Express Tribune that following the incident, the coalmines have been sealed and a committee has been formed to investigate. “A case will be registered against the mines inspector and others responsible,” he added.
Following the incident, workers of the Qudrati mines staged a protest, demanding action against the local contractor, Akbar Kamalkhel. According to the president of the Mine Workers Union, Bakht Nawab, instead of pacifying the protesting workers, Kamalkhel and a few of his accomplices opened fire on them, warning them to go back to work. A labourer, identified as Waliullah, was injured in the firing, while KamalKhel managed to escape.
However, the workers along with labour mines union president Bhakt Nawab vowed to continue their strike till the bodies were sent to their native town of Shangla.
National Labourer Federation President Abdul Raheem Dad Khel condemned the incident and held the government and the mining company responsible for the deaths.
“Neither are there any safety measures in the mines nor is there security for miners,” he said.
(With additional reporting by our correspondent in Shangla)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2013.
The owner’s greed to extract more coal from a mine has led to the deaths of eight workers in Loralai.
The men suffocated to death in the toxic gas leak in an Akbar Nasir Coal Company coalmine that is located in the Qudrati area of Duki. The mine had been closed off for the past six months since the specific quantity of coal had already been extracted, according to Taza Khan, a contractor in Loralai.
However, the owner ordered the miners to extract more. Khan explained that to get more coal from ‘dead’ mines, a fire is lit inside it. The workers went into the mine late Sunday night and lit a fire, which produced the toxic gas.
According to sources, around 10 coalminers were working there. Two workers fell unconscious and the others died. The deceased, identified as Mehrab Khan, Siraj Akbar, Khan Zamin, Shakir, Hazrat Ali, Hakumran, Samiullah and Bhakt Zaman, belonged to Puren tehsil of Shangla, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Loralai Deputy Commissioner Mateen Achkzai told The Express Tribune that following the incident, the coalmines have been sealed and a committee has been formed to investigate. “A case will be registered against the mines inspector and others responsible,” he added.
Following the incident, workers of the Qudrati mines staged a protest, demanding action against the local contractor, Akbar Kamalkhel. According to the president of the Mine Workers Union, Bakht Nawab, instead of pacifying the protesting workers, Kamalkhel and a few of his accomplices opened fire on them, warning them to go back to work. A labourer, identified as Waliullah, was injured in the firing, while KamalKhel managed to escape.
However, the workers along with labour mines union president Bhakt Nawab vowed to continue their strike till the bodies were sent to their native town of Shangla.
National Labourer Federation President Abdul Raheem Dad Khel condemned the incident and held the government and the mining company responsible for the deaths.
“Neither are there any safety measures in the mines nor is there security for miners,” he said.
(With additional reporting by our correspondent in Shangla)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2013.