QUETTA(National Times)- Five coal miners were killed in two separate mine accidents that took place in the Bolan and Duki coalfield areas of Balochistan, while another miner was injured, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said several miners had entered a coal mine in the Bolan coal mining field near the Mach area when methane gas accumulated inside the mine, trapping three miners deep underground.

Other miners managed to escape from the affected mine and informed the local administration and relevant authorities about the incident.

Rescue teams from the Mines and Minerals Department, along with local workers, launched an operation and reached the trapped miners. However, they were found dead due to suffocation caused by inhaling methane gas. The bodies were retrieved from deep inside the mine and shifted to Mach Hospital.

“We received three bodies of coal miners who died from inhaling poisonous methane gas,” hospital officials said. The deceased were identified as Murad Bakhsh, Ali Hassan, and Dilawar Khan.

The affected coal mine was sealed, and an investigation into the incident has been ordered.

Meanwhile, in another accident in the Duki coal mining area, two coal miners were killed and another was injured.

Police said that three mine workers were seriously injured when a trolley loaded with coal struck them. They were immediately shifted to the District Hospital Duki, where two miners succumbed to their injuries. One of the deceased was identified as Muhammad Ibrahim, while the identity of the other miner has not yet been confirmed. The injured worker is currently receiving treatment at the hospital.