PESHAWAR: At least nine miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in the Darra Adam Khel area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, confirmed officials after the completion of a rescue operation.
Three of the miners were also injured as the mine collapsed following the explosion. Rescue services managed to retrieve the injured and nine bodies from the debris.
Coal mining in Akhorwal commenced in 2003 but suffered frequent closures by tribal elders due to differences over the payment of royalties to local tribes. Although mines reopened briefly in 2006, after falling prey to tribal differences, they only became fully operational in 2013.
In August, at least six miners were killed and over a dozen more were trapped after a gas explosion inside a coal mine in Quetta’s Sanjadi area.
