Gas blast at coal mine in Pakistan's KP region killed nine workers

Peshawar: A gas blast at a coal mine in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has killed nine workers and injured four others, police said on Thursday.

There were as many as 13 workers at the Dolli coal mine in the Orakzai tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the blast occurred due to gas sparks inside the mine on Wednesday, district police officer Nazir Khan said.

Nine bodies have been recovered, including that of the lease contractor, said Deputy commissioner Adnan Khan.

The remaining four miners, who have suffered critical injuries, were rescued from the rubble and shifted to the KDA district headquarters hospital, Khan said.

A team of officials from the government's mineral development department inspected the site and ascertained the cause of the explosion as gas sparks inside the mine.

Coal deposits are found in the northwestern Orakzai district on the Afghan border and accidents are common, mainly due to gas build-ups in the mines.