Peshawar, Sep. 12 (PTI): A methane gas explosion in a coal mine in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday killed nine miners while three others were still trapped, police said.
The incident occurred in Akhorwal area of Derra Adam Khel town of Kohat district due to the accumulation of methane gas, police said.
According to police, bodies of nine trapped labourers have been recovered while efforts are under way to rescue the remaining three miners trapped inside the coal mine owned by Haji Firdous.
The police said that so far three miners have been injured in the accident and they have been shifted to a nearby hospital.
Mining is considered highly dangerous in Pakistan where dozens of miners are killed each year due to lack of modern mining facilities, training and equipment.
According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF), about 100 to 200 labourers die on average in coal mine accidents every year.
Explosions of this nature are not uncommon in coal mines in Pakistan, most of which are located in Balochistan and Sindh.
In August, 13 miners were killed in Balochistan's Sanjidi after a mine collapsed. Two others suffocated to death in an accident on September 2 in Balochistan's Much tehsil. PTI AYZ
