QUETTA: A day after eleven coal miners perished from breathing methane gas while working in his mine, the mine owner was charged with carelessness.
Authorities in Balochistan were also charged in the case because they neglected to make sure the miner complied with safety regulations.
In the Sanjdi coal mine field region, methane gas built up to a depth of about 1,500 feet, resulting in the deaths of all 11 miners—among them a contractor and a management of a coal business.
Rescuers recovered their bodies Friday night and sent them to their hometown villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district.
HRCP denounces dangerous working conditions for employees.
Eight victims, according to the official, were from a single Shangla community.
After a gas explosion in the Harnai coal mine field region on March 19 claimed the lives of twelve miners, this was the second significant coal mine accident in Balochistan this year.
The Mines and Minerals Department had sent a letter to the local police station to file a complaint against the mine owner, according to Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind.
Mir Shoaib Nosherwani, the minister of mines and minerals for Balochistan, bemoaned the fact that mine owners had been told time and time again to provide safe working conditions for miners.
The minister expressed regret that the owners disregarded the warning and the enormous number of lives lost, adding that they had also been told to install gas meters to monitor the build-up of toxic gasses inside the mines.
HRCP’s censure
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has denounced with vigor the disregard for occupational health and safety regulations in Balochistan’s coal mines.
HRCP stated that despite the fact that the mine has been sealed and an inquiry has been initiated, it is no longer possible to overlook how frequently these occurrences occur.
The commission cited its fact-finding report on human rights breaches in the coal mines of Balochistan, which are equipped with inadequate safety gear and antiquated technology.
According to the 2022 report “Below the surface: Rights violations in Balochistan’s coal mines,” 100 to 200 miners die “in avoidable accidents” each year due to oxygen deprivation, mine roof or wall collapses, methane buildup, and explosions, with many more incidents going unreported.
In order to ameliorate dangerous work conditions, the report criticized the infrequency of mine inspections, which needed to be rectified immediately.
It also called for the prosecution of mine owners and contractors who violate the law’s requirements for maintaining proper safety standards.
