Coal Mine Explosion in Pakistan Claims Lives of 34 Employees, According to Latest Account

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A blast at a coal mine killed at least 34 workers in southern Pakistan, the provincial disaster agency said on Friday, adding rescuers were searching for more missing miners.

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The explosion, caused by methane gas, tore through the mine near the capital of the resource-rich province of Balochistan on Thursday, sparking a rescue operation that ran into the night.

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“According to information received from the deployed teams, 34x Dead bodies have been recovered,” southern Balochistan’s provincial disaster management authority said in a statement in the early hours of Friday.

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“The joint rescue operation is still underway to locate and recover the remaining trapped miners,” it added, without specifying how many were in the mine when the explosion took place.

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Mining accidents are common in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan.

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Pakistan’s poorest province and largest by landmass, Balochistan lags behind the rest of the country in almost every index, including education, employment and economic development.

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AFP

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