Pakistan mine explosion death toll rises

The number of dead from a collapsed mine in southwest Pakistan has risen to 45, according to officials. Rescue workers are no longer holding our hope of finding any survivors.

It is believed that at least 50 miners were inside the coal mine in Baluchistan province when a methane explosion caused large parts of it to collapse. The resulting fire will have deprived any survivors of the collapse and explosion of oxygen, and it is believed leaking methane gas fumes may have poisoned anyone tapped inside.

The mine is owned by the state-run Pakistan Mineral Development Corp. The mine’s contractor was ordered to shut the mine two weeks ago after dangerous levels of methane gas were detected, but the warnings were ignored. Safety is notoriously lax in the region, with some 150 fatalities reported in Baluchistan province in the last three years.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/25032011/pakistan_mine_explosion_death_toll_rises/