Quetta, Jan 13 (IANS): Rescue efforts continue in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, where another coal mine accident in the Khost area of Harnai district has claimed two lives following the death of 12 miners, last week.

Six workers, who were trapped in the mine on Sunday, have been successfully rescued, the local authorities revealed on Monday.

The tragedy occurred even as efforts to retrieve the body of the last miner from the Sanjdi mine on the outskirts of Quetta, continue. A total of 12 miners had been trapped 4,000 feet deep inside the Sanjdi mine after a powerful methane gas explosion on January 9. A majority of the victims hailed from Shangla district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while one belonged to Swat.

In the latest incident, cracks developed in a coal mine located in the Khost coal field, causing part of the mine to cave in while eight workers were still inside. Two miners, later identified as Zahid and Islahat, were trapped deep inside the mine and could not be saved. Their bodies were recovered after 12 hours of continuous efforts, reported Pakistan's leading daily Dawn..

The Mines and Minerals Department of Pakistan has closed the Khost mine and ordered an inquiry into the incident. Leaders of the Labour Federation have condemned the deaths, calling for the ratification of safety standards and the International Labour Organisation Convention 176. They also emphasised the need for greater awareness programmes to improve miners' safety.

The Federation criticised the government's failure to enforce safety regulations, noting that no officials had visited the site and that the recurring tragedies underscored the urgent need for reforms to protect the lives of vulnerable coal miners.

Meanwhile, search efforts continued in the Sanjdi coalfield to retrieve the body of the last trapped miner. According to Ghani Baloch, Chief Inspector of Mines, excavation had reached a depth of 4,100 feet, and the 11 bodies retrieved from the mine were handed over to their families after completing medico-legal formalities.

Ibadullah Khan, leader of the Opposition in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly visited the Sanjdi coalfield on Sunday, where he was briefed on the ongoing rescue operation by officials from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Mines Department.