EDITORIAL: A methane gas explosion at a coalmine in Hernai district of Balochistan claimed 12 lives on Tuesday. Ten miners were working about 1,000 feet below the surface when the explosion occurred, igniting a massive fire and the collapse of a large portion of the mine. Several other colliers who rushed to save their colleagues were also trapped underground.
Rescue teams arriving from Quetta and Sharang recovered 12 bodies and got out eight persons alive but unconscious. Such tragic incidents keep recurring with an alarming frequency. Just last January 13 miners were killed in Harnai and Bolan districts in similar gas explosions. According to Pakistan Mining Labour Federation, 100-200 miners die every year during work.
It is a misnomer to call them accidents. They happen because mine owners and the regulatory authorities, Chief Inspectorate of Mines and the provincial Mines and Minerals Department, have failed to enforce basic safety measures.
The inspectors tasked to check implementation of relevant rules and regulations tend to ignore the risk factors either out of personal considerations or due to lack of necessary wherewithal. Then there are many unregistered companies making the situation worse. Resultantly, miners work in perilous conditions. There are no warning and evacuation systems in place in the event of gas leakages and consequent structural cave-ins or flooding.
Besides, there is little protection against effects of harmful environment that can cause such serious health issues as lung fibrosis, silicosis, asbestosis — where asbestos is used in mining equipment — and some other problems, leading to disabilities. Although the law provides for adequate monetary compensation for injuries incurred during work, or to families in case of a death, implementation is rare, if at all. Still, poverty and rampant unemployment in that part of the country keep pushing people to find work in mines.
In a statement issued following the latest tragedy Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his “profound sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives”, adding that “such incidents are extremely painful and saddening. We stand by the victims’ families in this hour of grief.”
Furthermore, he said, the government will provide maximum possible relief to the injured and the affected families. All this is important. But he should also take notice of what causes these incidents, ensuring urgent steps are taken for strict implementation of safety standards.
Negligent mine owners must be held to account. It is about time also Pakistan ratified the ILO’s (International Labour Organisation’s) Safety and Health in Mines Convention, which specifies a number of measures employers need to take to eliminate or minimise the risks in mines under their control.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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