QUETTA, Pakistan — A methane explosion collapsed a piece of a coal mine in southwestern Pakistan, killing six miners and triggering a day-long rescue operation, officers mentioned Friday. 5 miners have been reported injured.

The explosion befell on Thursday within the district of Harnai in southwestern Baluchistan province. A mines inspector, Mohammad Akram, mentioned that it took rescuers 24 hours to get to the trapped miners and retrieve the our bodies of these killed.

Pakistani coal miners usually complain that mine homeowners fail to take security precautions and set up wanted gear. Nonetheless, regardless of the hazard and low wages, 1000’s work in mines in Baluchistan, the place unemployment is larger than in different elements of Pakistan.

Baluchistan has for many years additionally been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatist teams preventing for independence from the central authorities in Islamabad. The separatists complain of discrimination and demand a fairer share of the province’s sources and wealth.

The province has additionally seen a surge in militant assaults in current months.