Pakistani official: Methane explosion traps 10 coalminers

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani official says rescue teams are struggling to save 10 miners trapped after a methane gas explosion in a coalmine in the country's southwest.

The spokesman for the provincial government of southwestern Baluchistan province, Liaquat Shahwani, says one miner had been rescued earlier.

He says the rescued miner was closer to the surface when the explosion took place late on Sunday at a depth of over 1,220 meters, or about 4,000 feet, and the mine in the Degari area near the provincial capital, Quetta, partially caved in.

Shahwani says he's hopeful the 10 trapped miners will be rescued.

Safety standard are commonly ignored in the coalmine industry in Pakistan, leading to accidents and explosions that have caused the deaths of many mine workers in recent years.