ORAKZAI: Three coal miners tragically lost their lives on Friday after inhaling toxic gas inside a coal mine in the Orakzai area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The incident took place at mine number 3, which had been inactive for a year until today when the mine in-charge, accompanied by two labourers, entered the mine, but none of them returned.
Engineer Arshad Ali, a mines inspector in Orakzai, confirmed that the mine had been closed for maintenance and safety reasons but was reopened in violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs). Ali explained that the regulations required the discharge of harmful carbon monoxide gas from the mine before anyone could enter, but the workers ignored these safety protocols.
“Carbon monoxide is an extremely hazardous gas, especially in coal mines. It is crucial that it is vented out before workers enter,” Ali said. “Unfortunately, they did not adhere to the SOPs, and this oversight led to the loss of their lives.”
Upon receiving the distressing news, Ali rushed to the mine with a rescue team and used special fans to ventilate the area. Within an hour, the bodies of the three victims were recovered from the mine.
The deceased individuals were identified as Sher Zaman, a resident of Shangla; Rahimullah, a resident of Swat; and Aslam, another resident of Shangla. The incident has raised serious concerns about safety standards in the region’s coal mines.
This tragedy comes just a year after a similar incident occurred in a coal mine near Quetta, where 11 people, including nine miners, lost their lives after inhaling methane gas inside the mine. Despite efforts to improve safety, these frequent incidents continue to highlight the dangerous working conditions in the mining industry.
Local authorities are now investigating the incident further and have called for a review of safety protocols to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
