21 Mar 2011

Hopes fade of finding survivors at Pakistan mine

10:13 pm on 21 March 2011

The death toll from a coal mine collapse in Pakistan rose to 45 on Monday, with little hope that any survivors will be found from the 50 people known to have been in the mine.

Officials on Baluchistan province where the accident took place said teams are doing their best to rescue them, but it will be a miracle if they survive.

They say the mine in southwest Pakistan was poorly ventilated, allowing poisonous gases to accumulate and trigger blasts which led to the collapse on Sunday.

The mine in the southwest of the country is run by the state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation.

Rescue workers retrieved 10 bodies on Sunday.