Methane blast at Pakistan coal mine kills at least 34 miners

A methane blast at a coal mine complex in Pakistan’s Balochistan province killed at least 34 miners and trapped others underground after parts of the site collapsed near Quetta. Rescue crews kept searching through the Sorange coalfield as toxic gas and buried shafts slowed the recovery effort.

The explosion struck on Thursday, July 30, 2026, and was reported to have been triggered by a buildup of methane gas. Initial reports put the death toll at least 11 and said dozens of miners were missing. Later counts raised the toll to at least 18, and then to at least 34 as recovery work continued at the complex.

The disaster once again exposed a mining system in which methane explosions and cave-ins have become routine in Balochistan. Accidents are common in Pakistan’s coal mining industry, especially in this province, where many mines lack basic safety measures. The repeated blasts have turned the narrow coalfields around Quetta into a recurring emergency zone rather than a tightly regulated industrial sector.

Some accounts placed the mine in the Sorange, or Surange, coalfield, about 30 to 50 kilometers east or northeast of Quetta, the provincial capital. As bodies were recovered, rescue workers and locals gathered at the site, underscoring the scale of the human toll. The provincial disaster agency said the latest count stood at 34 dead, though the danger underground had not fully eased as teams kept working through collapsed shafts and methane-filled tunnels.