Balochistan govt orders FIR against coal mine owners after explosion kills 12

The Balochistan government has ordered registration of a case against the owners of a private mining company after Thursday’s deadly methane gas explosion killed 12 workers inside their coal mine about 40 kilometers from the provincial capital Quetta.

Rescue teams recovered four bodies of the miners on Friday and another seven on Saturday morning. Rescuers had faced challenges retrieving the bodies from 4,000 feet inside the mine filled with hazardous gas.

Later, the provincial mining department directed the district administration to lodge a First Information Report (FIR), or police complaint, against the owners of the United Mineral Company Sanjdi.

“An accident occurred on 09/01/2025, which killed twelve miners,” the notification said. “Therefore, it is requested to lodge an FIR against Sheikh Abdul Aziz and Hayat Khan, owners of the mine.”

“Following the request of the mining department, we are lodging an FIR against the mine owners of the private mineral company located in Sanjdi,” said Saadi Bin Asad, deputy commissioner of Quetta.