QUETTA, Pakistan — Rescuers in southwestern Pakistan have recovered the bodies of 11 coal miners who died after a methane gas explosion caused a mine to collapse last week, officials said on Monday.
Efforts continue to locate a 12th worker who remains missing following the explosion on Thursday in Singidi, a city in Balochistan Province, according to Abdul Ghani, a provincial mines inspector.
In a separate incident on Sunday, two more miners were killed when another coal mine collapsed in Harnai, a district in the same province, Mr. Ghani added.
Accidents in Pakistan’s coal mining industry are common, with safety standards often ignored. Explosions and collapses regularly result in fatalities, highlighting long-standing concerns among miners who say mine owners routinely fail to install proper safety equipment.
Balochistan, which is rich in mineral resources, has seen frequent mining-related disasters, further exacerbating grievances in the province, which has also been plagued by separatist insurgencies.
Last week, Pakistani security forces rescued eight of 16 miners kidnapped by local militants in the country’s restive northwest. An operation to free the remaining miners is ongoing.
