In July 2019, 11 miners who were stuck during a disaster in a coal mine located in the region of Degari Baluchistan, nine of them were announced dead, and two were in a serious condition. Three of the miners who were rescued earlier, among them, only two survived. Poisonous gas filled the mining chamber that led to the disaster. A gross violation of health and safety regulations in the mining sector in Baluchistan is the norm. Mine contractors, in collaboration with the provincial government through corruption, depart from basic health and safety measures that are important to avoid such disasters. Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation PMDC a semi-government authority responsible for overseeing, administering and managing all mining operations in Pakistan. PMDC board comprises of people from the private sector whose basic aim is profit rather than workers safety. There are embroiled in massive corrupt practices with mine contractors. In the event of the Degari Baluchistan incident, workers were stuck in the mine, and no significant efforts were made by the PMDC and local authorities to pull them out for many hours. It is important to note that on January 2019, a similar incident happened thereby poisonous gas was filled in a chamber in the mine in which two miners lost their lives, and 3 were critically unconscious. In the same month, a blast occurred in a mine in Chamalink Baluchistan killing 4 miners and critically injuring one. In 2018 a blast in Marwair Baluchistan killed 4 miners. The miners are furious about the rising incidence of mine disasters in Baluchistan and are trying to organise to demand better health and safety measures in mines and compensations for the families of miners killed and injured in disasters. According to the sources, between 100 and 200 miners die on an average in coal mine accidents every year in the whole country. Miners in Baluchistan are seeking international support and solidarity from international workers in mines and other related sectors to support them so that they can ensure better health and safety at workplaces from the provincial government, Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the PMDC.
