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       Three coal miners died after inhaling a toxic gas in a coal mine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai area on Saturday, according to a mines official.

       Engineer Arshad Ali, a mines inspector in Orakzai, told Dawn.com that mine number 3 had been closed for a year and today, the mine in-charge went down into it with two labourers, but none of them returned.

       “According to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set for mines, no one is allowed to go inside before discharging the carbon monoxide gas. But they went inside, ignoring the SOPs; thus, they lost their lives,” Ali said.

       He added that carbon monoxide gas is harmful and present in coal mines.

       Ali said that upon receiving the information about the incident, he rushed to the mine with a rescue team and arranged for special fans. The bodies were recovered within an hour.

       The deceased were identified as Sher Zaman, a resident of Shangla; Rahimullah, a resident of Swat; and Aslam, a resident of Shangla.

       Replying to a question, the inspector said the mine had been closed for the last year, but mining operations were resumed without giving notice to the mineral department.

       Incidents of miners suffocating in coal mines due to toxic gases are not uncommon.

       Last June, at least 11 people died after inhaling methane gas inside a coal mine in the Sanjdi area, some 50km from Quetta. The victims included nine coal miners, a coal company manager and a contractor.

       “The coal miners were working around 1,500 feet deep in the mine when the gas eruption started and quickly spread to the place. All the coal miners fell unconscious,” Abdul Ghani Shahwani, Chief Inspector of Mines in Balochistan, told Dawn.com.

       Last November, two Afghan coal miners died after inhaling poisonous methane gas while working inside a mine in the Duki coal field area.