Methane gas blast kills 21 miners in Pakistan

At least 21 people have been killed at a coal mine in south-western Pakistan that caved in after a methane gas explosion, officials said.

Iftikhar Ahmed, a senior mine inspector, says the chances of survival are bleak for the 31 miners still trapped in the mine after yesterday’s accident.

He said today that many of the miners they have found so far suffocated from methane gas.

The mine, in Baluchistan province, was declared dangerous two weeks ago, but the warning was ignored.

The mine is owned by the state-run Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation but leased to a contractor.

The mine is 25 miles east of the provincial capital, Quetta.