Six Workers Trapped in Balochistan’s Duki Landslide
News Desk
Quetta: At least six miners remain trapped after a landslide struck a coal mine in the Pathar Top area of Balochistan’s Duki District, once again exposing the deadly conditions faced by coal workers in Pakistan’s mining sector.
According to SHO Kashif Rafique, rescue efforts are ongoing to reach the miners buried inside the mine. The incident adds to a growing list of fatal mining disasters in Balochistan, where workers often operate in hazardous conditions with limited safety protections and weak enforcement of labour rights.
The latest accident comes amid repeated concerns by labour activists and human rights groups over the lack of workplace safety, inadequate emergency response systems, and the exploitation of impoverished miners who risk their lives daily to earn a living.
Earlier this year, on April 16, at least five coal miners were killed in two separate incidents in the Bolan and Duki coalfield regions of Balochistan, as reported in Dawn news.
Read More: https://thepenpk.com/bodies-of-five-more-miners-recovered-from-kurram-coal-mine/
In the first incident near the Mach area of Bolan District, methane gas accumulated inside a coal mine, trapping several workers underground.
While some miners managed to escape and alert authorities, rescue teams later recovered the bodies of three miners who had suffocated due to the toxic gas. The deceased were identified as Murad Bakhsh, Ali Hassan, and Dilawar Khan.
Officials sealed the mine and ordered an investigation, though rights advocates say such inquiries rarely lead to meaningful accountability or long-term reforms.
In a separate accident in the Duki coalfield area, three miners were struck by a coal-loaded trolley. Two workers later died from their injuries at hospital, while another remains under treatment. One of the deceased was identified as Muhammad Ibrahim.
Mining accidents are frequent in Balochistan’s coal belt, where workers, many from poor and marginalized communities, continue to face unsafe working environments, insufficient protective equipment, and little social security despite the industry’s economic importance.
