The death toll in a collapsed coal mine in south-western Pakistan has reached 43, government officials said Tuesday, after 19 more bodies were recovered, dpa reported.
The two remaining miners, trapped in the mine in Baluchistan province since a methane gas explosion on Sunday, were also feared dead.
The province's Mines Inspector Abdul Ghani said that the rescue team pulled 11 bodies from the collapsed mine on Monday and eight more early Tuesday at the Sor-Range Collieries, 16 kilometres east of provincial capital Quetta.
Baluchistan is rich in mineral resources including coal, copper, gold, oil and gas, but poor extraction techniques and lack of safety measures frequently lead to accidents.
In 2008, 15 miners were killed in a deadly accident at the same collieries. Over the past three years, over 150 miners have died in the province, according to English-language daily Express Tribune.
Some 400,000 miners across Baluchistan work in poor and hazardous conditions for salaries of under 13 US dollars a week.