At least 34 workers were killed in an explosion at a coal mine near Quetta in Pakistan's Balochistan province, the provincial disaster authority said. A joint rescue operation continued as officials searched for additional miners believed to be trapped.
The blast tore through the mine in the Sorange area, roughly 50 kilometres east of the provincial capital, on Thursday. Authorities suspected methane gas but had not announced a final technical finding. The explosion triggered an operation that continued overnight into Friday.
Balochistan's Provincial Disaster Management Authority said teams at the site had recovered 34 bodies by early Friday. It did not state how many people were underground when the explosion occurred or how many remained missing. The absence of a complete worker count meant the eventual toll could not yet be determined from the supplied report.
A mine worker, Ahmed Zada, told AFP that other miners entered after hearing the blast in an effort to rescue colleagues and that some of those volunteers also died. His account indicated that the casualties may have included both workers caught in the initial explosion and people who went into the tunnel afterward. Officials did not provide a separate breakdown.
Relatives, miners and rescue personnel gathered at the entrance while bodies were carried from the concrete tunnel. Workers and rescuers moved the dead on stretchers to vehicles and ambulances. Images described in the report showed some bodies covered in soot and a response involving both people wearing protective helmets and others in ordinary clothing.
The source described coal-mining accidents as frequent in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan, where labor organizations have repeatedly called for stronger safety rules and enforcement. That history frames questions about mine conditions, but the supplied evidence did not identify a safety violation, operator or regulatory failure responsible for this explosion.
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province by area and one of its poorest by several development measures. It has substantial coal deposits as well as gold and copper resources. Mining provides work and revenue in the province while exposing laborers and rescuers to underground hazards when ventilation, gas detection or emergency systems fail. The report did not assess those systems at Sorange.
The immediate facts remained a suspected gas explosion, 34 recovered bodies and an unfinished search. Investigators still needed to confirm the ignition source, establish how many people were inside, distinguish initial victims from would-be rescuers and determine whether anyone remained alive underground. No completion time for the rescue operation was announced. Victims were not identified.
