Volcanicity
20th March 2011, 19:58
At least 10 miners were killed and 38 others feared dead after explosions triggered a collapse in a coal mine in Pakistan's Baluchistan province on Sunday, officials said. .It would be "a miracle" if the 38 missing survived, one official said. A total of 48 miners were working around 1,200 metres (3,900 feet) underground at the time.
The mine in the far-flung Sorange district of the insurgency-torn southwestern province was poorly ventilated, allowing poisonous gases to accumulate and cause the three blasts, officials said.
Mohammad Iftikhar, provincial chief inspector of mines, told AFP that rescue workers had retrieved ten bodies from the mine, which had previously been ordered to stop operating.
"They had severe burns, which means that the blasts also caused a fire," he said. "We are trying our best to save the others."
He had earlier said the victims died of suffocation.
But Baluchistan's home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said of the missing: "They may luckily receive oxygen but it will be a miracle if they survived."
Baluchistan secretary of Mines and Minerals Mushtaq Raisani earlier told reporters the tricky rescue operation could take two days. "There is a huge quantity of methane gas inside the mine," he warned.
Raisani said rescue work, which was postponed earlier because some of the emergency crew had been left unconscious by the noxious fumes, had resumed and military experts and engineers had been called in to help.
"They are removing debris and are trying to clear the way to move forward but we are not able to move forward," he said, adding that the mine operators had ignored previous warnings to stop work at the site.
The mine is run by the state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation and officials said they will launch an investigation against those responsible for the "criminal act" of ignoring previous warnings to stop mining.
Rich in mineral wealth, Baluchistan is plagued by an insurgency blamed on nationalist tribesmen demanding more jobs and royalties from the region's natural resources. Hundreds of people have died in the violence since 2004.
Most coal mines in the impoverished province are notorious for poor safety standards and facilities and similar deadly accidents have occurred in the past.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110320/twl-pakistan-mine-accident-kills-10-doze-97cc989.html
The mine in the far-flung Sorange district of the insurgency-torn southwestern province was poorly ventilated, allowing poisonous gases to accumulate and cause the three blasts, officials said.
Mohammad Iftikhar, provincial chief inspector of mines, told AFP that rescue workers had retrieved ten bodies from the mine, which had previously been ordered to stop operating.
"They had severe burns, which means that the blasts also caused a fire," he said. "We are trying our best to save the others."
He had earlier said the victims died of suffocation.
But Baluchistan's home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said of the missing: "They may luckily receive oxygen but it will be a miracle if they survived."
Baluchistan secretary of Mines and Minerals Mushtaq Raisani earlier told reporters the tricky rescue operation could take two days. "There is a huge quantity of methane gas inside the mine," he warned.
Raisani said rescue work, which was postponed earlier because some of the emergency crew had been left unconscious by the noxious fumes, had resumed and military experts and engineers had been called in to help.
"They are removing debris and are trying to clear the way to move forward but we are not able to move forward," he said, adding that the mine operators had ignored previous warnings to stop work at the site.
The mine is run by the state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation and officials said they will launch an investigation against those responsible for the "criminal act" of ignoring previous warnings to stop mining.
Rich in mineral wealth, Baluchistan is plagued by an insurgency blamed on nationalist tribesmen demanding more jobs and royalties from the region's natural resources. Hundreds of people have died in the violence since 2004.
Most coal mines in the impoverished province are notorious for poor safety standards and facilities and similar deadly accidents have occurred in the past.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110320/twl-pakistan-mine-accident-kills-10-doze-97cc989.html