12 killed in Pakistan mine collapse

The bodies of ten more miners were pulled from a collapsed coal pit in southern Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said, bringing the death toll to 12 after the rescue bid ended.

A gas explosion rocked the private coal pit in the mining region of Khost, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Quetta, on Tuesday evening, trapping the miners hundreds of feet below ground.

“The rescue effort has concluded with the recovery of all 12 dead bodies,” Abdul Ghani Baloch, chief inspector of mines for Balochistan province, told AFP.

“Two bodies were recovered during the night, with the remaining 10 retrieved early in the morning.”

Abdullah Shahwani, Balochistan’s director general of mining, also confirmed the death toll, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement expressing “profound sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives”.