At least 10 miners are trapped more than 1km underground after a fire started by an electrical short circuit in a coal mine in southwestern Pakistan, officials said yesterday.
Rescue efforts were hampered by the fire spreading poisonous carbon monoxide gas inside the mine, some 35km east of Quetta, the capital of oil-and mineral-rich Baluchistan province.
Abdullah Shahwani, a top official for the industry in the province, said that 11 miners were working on Sunday around 4,000’ (1,200m) underground when the accident happened.
“Fire erupted due to a cable short circuit, causing the spread of poisonous monoxide gas,” Shahwani told AFP.
One miner has been rescued but 10 remain trapped inside, he said.
“Hopes of their survival are very slim as rescue workers have reached only 1,200’ (360m) inside the mine,” Shahwani said, roughly 20 hours after the accident occurred.
The spread of carbon monoxide was hampering the attempt to reach the miners, said rescuer Mohamed Shafqat, who spoke to AFP from the site.
The coal mine is run by the state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation.
Miners gather outside the collapsed mine some 35km east of Quetta.
