Two bodies have been found in a collapsed coal mine in southern Pakistan, search and rescue crews said today, as they continue their efforts to find eight more workers.

Last Tuesday night, ten workers were trapped some 244 meters below the surface of the earth due to a gas explosion in a coal mine tunnel operated by a private company, in the Khost district of Baluchistan province.

“Rescue teams found two bodies during the night,” Gani Baluch, inspector of the province’s mine and mine safety service, told AFP.

“We fear that the rest of the workers are not alive either, but the members of the rescue teams are doing their best to locate them,” he added.

A further eight workers were also trapped for hours trying to help their colleagues before a rescue team brought them to the surface. Some were unconscious.

Rescue teams from the Ministry of Mines and Mines and the National Disaster Management Agency are operating on site.

“The cause of the accident is the concentration of carbon monoxide followed by an explosion. The consequence was that the mine collapsed,” explained Mr. Baluch.

In general, working conditions in Pakistan’s mines and mines are characterized as dangerous and safety regulations inadequate.