Pak: Three killed in gas explosion at coal mine in Balochistan

Three workers were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Dikki district of Pakistan's Balochistan province, officials said Tuesday.

Shafqat Fayyaz, chief inspector of mines in Balochistan, said three more workers remained trapped in the coal mine which collapsed after the explosion.

He claimed that six miners were working nearly 1,700 feet deep inside the mine when the methane gas explosion took place leading to collapse of a portion of the mine.

The rescue workers were able to retrieve three bodies from the debris and they were identified as Muhammad Omar, Abdul Manan and Abdul Ghani, Fayyaz said.

But local labour leaders including Khair Muhammad Kakar who heads a local labour organisation claimed that six workers had died as there were around two dozen workers inside the mine when it collapsed.

He said nearly 19 more workers were trapped inside, asserting that the workers in the Dikki area were taking part in the rescue operation themselves as authorities had arrived nearly 14 hours after the incident at the site.

"The miners are engaged in the rescue operation on their own," Kakar said.

In recent months there have been a series of accidents at coal mines in the Balochistan province which is rich in minerals and natural resources.