Thirty-four miners died when a coal mine collapsed after a gas explosion in the suburbs of the city here on Thursday.
According to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), several miners were trapped due to the explosion in the coal mine in Sorange area of Quetta, and the search is ongoing.
Thirty-four bodies have so far been retrieved from the mine. As many as 42 workers were working at the time of the explosion. The fate of the remaining miners is unknown. Rescue efforts are under way to rescue the other trapped labourers.
Minister for Mines and Minerals Shoaib Noshirwani has said rescue teams are continuing operations despite extremely difficult conditions, and all available resources are being utilised to reach out to other workers trapped in the affected mine.
He said he shares the grief of the families of the miners who died in the tragic incident. The families of the deceased workers will be paid Rs500,000 each and the injured will be paid Rs300,000 each. All aspects of the accident will be investigated.
Earlier, the owner of the coalmine had told the media that the explosion in the mine was caused by methane gas.
There were 42 workers at the time of the explosion. All the workers trapped in the mine belong to the Shangla area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.