ORAKZI
Three coal miners died after inhaling a toxic gas in a coal mine in the Orakzai area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Engineer Arshad Ali, a mines inspector in Orakzai, said that mine number 3 had been closed for a year, and today, the mine in-charge went down into it with two labourers, but none of them returned.
“According to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set for mines, no one is allowed to go inside before discharging the carbon monoxide gas. But they went inside, ignoring the SOPs; thus, they lost their lives,” Ali said.
He added that carbon monoxide gas is harmful and present in coal mines.
Ali said that upon receiving the information about the incident, he rushed to the mine with a rescue team and arranged for special fans. The bodies were recovered within an hour.
The deceased were identified as Sher Zaman, a resident of Shangla; Rahimullah, a resident of Swat; and Aslam, a resident of Shangla.
Last June, at least 11 people died after inhaling methane gas inside a coal mine in the Sanjdi area, some 50km from Quetta. The victims included nine coal miners, a coal company manager and a contractor.
