16 killed, several injured as coal mine collapses near Quetta

At least sixteen coal miners have so far reportedly been killed while more than nine others injured when a coal mine collapsed in Marwarh, an area some 45 kilometers from Quetta city. 

The officials said on Saturday that the injured miners have been admitted to Civil Hospital Quetta for treatment where they are in a stable condition. Rescue teams were immediately called on the site. The trapped miners were rescued in an unconscious state and shifted to the local hospitals.

Chief Inspector Iftikhar Ahmed confirmed that thirty miners were working in three shops located near the coal mine where the accident took place. All the miners were trapped when a gas explosion led to the mine’s collapse, he added.

Most of the labourers involved in the incident belonged to the village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Shangla district, officials said.

At least 11 miners died during two such incidents in mines of Darra Adam Khel and Jhelum last month.

Earlier on Saturday, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the killing of six labourers in Kharan district of Balochistan on Friday. Supreme Court (SC) issued notices to Balochistan chief secretary and Inspector General of Police (IGP) and will hear the case at Quetta Registry on May 11. The families of six slain labourers received the bodies in Okara.