Coal mine blast in Pakistan kills at least 18 miners and traps 24 others

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — An explosion inside a coal mine in southwest Pakistan killed at least 18 miners Thursday and trapped 24 others underground in what officials believed to be life-threatening conditions as rescuers raced to reach them.

The blast apparently was triggered by a buildup of methane gas and occurred on the outskirts of the Baluchistan provincial capital of Quetta, government mine inspector Ghani Baloch said.

The bodies of the seven miners initially were recovered hours after the deadly blast, and emergency responders later found 11 more bodies, officials and a provincial disaster management agency said in a statement.

Baloch said rescue operations would continue until all the trapped miners were found, but he indicated that officials believed the death toll likely would rise further.

“The chances of finding anyone alive diminish after methane gas explosions because oxygen levels drop to zero, and rescuers are also proceeding cautiously inside the mine,” Baloch said.

Authorities were handing over the bodies to their families for burial, while relatives of those still trapped waited anxiously for news, Baloch said.

Baluchistan’s Minister for Mines and Minerals Shoaib Nosherwani said the rescue teams were working under extremely difficult conditions. He pledged that the provincial government would go all-out in the continuing response.

Nosherwani expressed condolences to relatives of the victims and said the provincial government would pay compensation of 500,000 Pakistani rupees (about $1,800) to the family of each miner killed in the blast.

He said authorities would conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion, and would review mining safety measures to help prevent similar accidents.

A coal miners’ labor union said it suspected negligence led to the explosion and called for action against those responsible. In a statement, the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation urged the government to strictly enforce safety regulations and take tough action against companies that violate mine safety laws.

Deadly accidents are common in Pakistan’s coal mining industry, particularly in Baluchistan, where many mines lack adequate ventilation, gas monitoring systems and other basic safety measures.

Mine workers and labor groups have long accused mine owners of failing to enforce safety regulations or provide adequate protective equipment.

Despite the risks and low wages, thousands of miners depend on the coal industry for their livelihoods in Baluchistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed province, where unemployment and poverty remain widespread.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

People transport the body of a miner recovered after an explosion inside a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta, in southwest Pakistan, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fazal Tawab)

A man comforts a miner mourning fellow miners killed in an explosion at a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta, in southwest Pakistan, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fazal Tawab)

People place the body of a miner recovered after an explosion inside a coal mine, into an ambulance on the outskirts of Quetta, in southwest Pakistan, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fazal Tawab)

People gather as rescue workers attempt to reach miners trapped in a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, in southwest Pakistan, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fazal Tawab)

People gather as rescue workers attempt to reach miners trapped in a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, in southwest Pakistan, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fazal Tawab)

The Trump administration cannot deny immigrants detained inside the United States a chance for release on bond, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 2-1 decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with a judge appointed by President Donald Trump in the majority, deepened a split between federal appeals courts over the administration's mandatory detention policy.

Four other appeals courts have also rejected it, while the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans and Eighth Circuit in St. Louis have sided with the Trump administration.

The expanding circuit split increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually take up the issue. The administration last month asked the high court to consider it.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it “strongly disagrees with the Ninth Circuit panel and is confident in its legal position regarding mandatory detention.”

“President Donald Trump and Secretary Mullin are now enforcing the law as it was actually written to keep America safe,” the statement said.

Under previous administrations, most noncitizens without a criminal record who were arrested inside the U.S. were allowed to seek a bond hearing while their immigration cases were pending. Mandatory detention was generally reserved for people arrested at the border.

Last July, immigration officials issued guidance expanding mandatory detention to immigrants in the U.S. interior. The move — part of the administration's mass deportation campaign — prompted a deluge of federal lawsuits by immigrants seeking release from custody.

Some federal judges who ordered bond hearings blasted the administration for repeatedly violating their orders.

The Trump administration has argued that Congress changed immigration law in 1996 to allow mandatory detention beyond the border, but previous administrations didn't enforce that provision.

Writing for the majority in Thursday's ruling, 9th U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel Bress rejected that argument.

“Although no reading of the complicated and interrelated textual provisions at issue here is without some shortcomings, the historical understanding of the statute is the better one,” Bress, a Trump appointee, wrote.

He was joined by Judge M. Margaret McKeown, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Judge Carlos Bea, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, dissented, saying the text and purpose of an amendment Congress approved in 1996 support the Trump administration's reading.

FILE - A group of undocumented migrants is deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the McAllen–Hidalgo–Reynosa International Bridge in McAllen, Texas, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)