Islamabad, Jan 10 (EFE).- The bodies of four miners were recovered from a collapsed coal mine in Pakistan\u2019s Balochistan province on Friday, while rescue teams continue efforts to reach eight others still trapped underground.<\/p>
Provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind said the miners had been stranded since Thursday evening when a methane gas explosion caused the mine to cave in at Sanjdi, about 40 km from the provincial capital of Quetta.<\/p>
\u201cSo far four dead bodies of the miners have been recovered during the rescue operation which continued the whole day,\u201d Rind told EFE.<\/p>
The official said the rescue efforts would continue overnight, but the chances of finding survivors were slim.<\/p>
\u201cThe rescuers are doing their job, but there is very little hope that any miner would still be alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>
Rind said the Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Mines Department were working to remove debris using heavy machinery.<\/p>
The trapped miners were reportedly at a depth of over 4,200 feet.<\/p>
Balochistan holds significant coal reserves, but outdated extraction methods and poor safety measures frequently result in fatal accidents.<\/p>
Coal mine incidents are common in the impoverished province, where miners often work in dangerous conditions without proper safety protocols.<\/p>
In June last year, 11 miners died in a gas explosion at the same mine. Earlier, in March, 12 miners were killed and eight others rescued after a similar mine collapse in Harnai district of Balochistan. EFE <\/p>
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