Blast at Pakistan coal mine complex kills at least 18

At least 18 coal miners have been killed in a methane gas explosion at a mining complex in Pakistan's Balochistan province, with 14 still trapped and efforts ongoing to rescue them.

At least ​18 coal miners were killed ‌after ​an explosion buried parts of a mining complex in Pakistan's Balochistan province ‌on Thursday, the Balochistan government said.

A rescue operation is still underway to find and recover the remaining 14 trapped miners, the ‌government said in a statement. Shoaib Nosherwani, Balochistan's minister ‌for mines and mineral development, earlier told Reuters that 36 people were in the collapsed part of the complex at the time of ⁠the ​explosion.

Of them, ⁠25 were missing late on Thursday night, he said. Rescue efforts were ⁠under way at a depth of 4,000 feet (1,219 meters), said ​Muhammad Atif, the chief inspector of mines in the ⁠province. "We are hopeful to find some miners alive, but chances are low," ⁠he ​said.

Abdul Ghani Baloch, a senior government mining official in the region, said: "Two mines close to each ⁠other were damaged in a powerful methane gas explosion." The explosion occurred ⁠in Sorange, ⁠a remote area near the provincial capital Quetta.