23 die as Pak coal mines collapse

Islamabad: Twenty-three persons were killed and 11 wounded after gas explosions tore through two neighbouring coal mines in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Sunday. Shortly before midday on Saturday, a build-up of methane caused an explosion and tunnel collapse at a mine in Marwaarh, 45 km east of Quetta, the capital of the fossil fuel-rich Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan. Deputy Commissioner Farrukh Atique said 16 of the 30 labourers inside the mine at the time were killed, with the remaining miners rescued and taken to hospital for treatment. Rescue officials said 12 victims belonged to Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. PTI

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Lava destroys Hawaii homes 

Pahoa: Nearly 2,000 people on Hawaii’s Big Island have been evacuated from homes after lava eruptions destroyed five houses and sulphur dioxide gas threatened to harm anyone who stayed in the residential area, officials said.

A new fissure spewed lava up to 230 feet into the air and new cracks opened on a highway in the Leilani Estates area, about a dozen miles from where the Kilauea volcano erupted on Thursday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement on Saturday. The southeast corner of the island was rocked by a 6.9 tremor on Friday, the strongest since 1975, and more earthquakes and eruptions were forecast, perhaps for months to come. Reuters