QUETTA: At least 20 miners were killed and eight other injured when unidentified armed men attacked coalmines in Dukki area of Balochistan in the wee hours of Friday, local media reported.
Local media cited police officials as saying that unidentified armed men launched a deadly attack with rockets on local coal mines in the Duki district, resulting in the death of 20 laborers. The slain miners belonged to Qila Saifullah, Pishin, Muslim Bagh, Zhob, Kuchlak, Musa Khel, and Afghanistan, police stated.
According to Dukki Hospital Medical Officer Dr. Johar Saduzai, the injured miners have been immediately shifted to the Teaching Hospital Loralai following providing first aid at the hospital. He stated that police and FC personnel also reached at the spot but the locals and mine officials shifted the wounded and the dead to hospital. A local elder said that the attackers also set ten engines and other mining machinery to fire before fleeing the site.
Interior Minister Condemns Attack on Miners
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in the meanwhile, expressed condolences on the killing of miners in the area and vowed that the attackers would be brought to justice. The Minister expressed deep sorrow and grief over the sad incident and prayed for early recovery of the wounded. Mohsin Naqvi assured the bereaved families that the perpetrators would be handed down exemplary punishment.
Police, FC and rescue teams rushed to area after the strike. Heavy contingents of police and FC have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the attacker. Police expressed fear that the death toll may rise further as several wounded were in very critical condition.
