The rescue mission at the Harnai coal mine in Balochistan has been finished, with 12 miners found dead and eight others retrieved alive.
The operation, which lasted all night, required coordinated efforts from numerous teams, including the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), district administration, Frontier Corps (FC), and mining department.
On Tuesday night, a coal mine in the Harnai area collapsed due to an explosion, trapping at least 18 miners underneath. Extensive rescue attempts were quickly launched to release the captured miners.
According to Balochistan Mines Chief Inspector Abdul Ghani, the collapse occurred in the Zard Alu region of Harnai, trapping ten workers due to gas buildup.
As the night proceeded, eight men were rescued from the mine, and the corpses of the remaining 12 were pulled out by rescue personnel.
Abdul Ghani provided insight on the origin of the explosion, attributing it to gas collection within the mine, which trapped the miners. It was exacerbated when eight more miners descended into the pit to assist their colleagues, only to become stuck themselves, he explained.
Among those rescued were the miners who had subsequently entered the coal mine to rescue their stranded colleagues. However, the death toll serves as a sobering reminder of the inherent perils that miners endure in the pursuit of their professions.
The authorities have shut down the impacted coal mine while they investigate the source of the explosion.