Five Afghan nationals, including two brothers, died after inhaling poisonous gas in a coal mine in Pakistan’s Shahrag coal field, located in Harnai district, local media reported on Sunday.
The incident occurred early Saturday morning in southwestern province of Balochistan when six miners descended into a privately operated coal mine to begin their work. As they dug, methane gas built up inside the mine, causing the men to lose consciousness, according to local officials.
Realizing there was no response from inside, those outside the mine alerted the contractor and the regional mining inspectorate. Rescue teams were dispatched and launched an operation to recover the trapped miners.
When rescuers reached the workers, they found five of the miners dead. The sixth miner, identified as Khan Mohammad, was found unconscious and taken to a hospital. The bodies of the deceased were transported to a district hospital, where they were pronounced dead by doctors.
The Balochistan mines chief inspector has since sealed the mine and ordered an investigation into the incident.
The Afghan workers who lost their lives were identified as Rahman Shah, Shafiullah, Zubair Allah, and Matiullah. One of the victims remains unidentified. Authorities said the bodies would be repatriated to Afghanistan.
