Gas blast at KP coal mine kills nine workers

PESHAWAR: A gas blast at a coal mine killed nine workers in the Orakzai district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, a government official said, and a team investigating the incident said gas sparks had caused the explosion.

There were 13 workers in the mine at the time and nine bodies were recovered, said Adnan Farid, the deputy commissioner.

The remaining four miners were rescued from the rubble and have suffered critical injuries, he said.

A government team from the mineral development department inspected the site of the incident and said the explosion took place “due to gas sparks inside the mine,” Nazeer Khan, the district police officer (DPO) in Orakzai, told Reuters.

A government report seen by Reuters said the blast caused the collapse of the mine, and that gas build-up had triggered the blast. It didn’t specify what type of gas it was.

Coal deposits are found in the northwestern district that sits on the Afghanistan border and mine accidents are common, mainly due to gas build-ups.

Mine workers have complained that a lack of safety gear and poor working conditions are the key causes of frequent accidents, labour union officials have said in the past.

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