Malaysian coalmine explosion kills 3
At least three foreign workers were killed and 29 others, including two Bangladeshis, injured in a coal mine explosion in eastern Malaysia on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Pahang police, in compliance with the Malaysian prime minister's order, detained 39 illegal immigrants, including Bangladeshis, Indians and Myanmarese, in the Cameron Highlands at the highlands on Saturday night.
The dead workers hailed from Myanmar, North Korea and Indonesia, reports Malaysia's English daily The Star. Sri Aman Police Chief DSP Mat Jusoh Mohammad said their bodies' were taken to the Sri Aman Hospital.
Police identified the injured Bangladeshis as Md Jakir, 36, and Maha Bubur, 26. However, officials at Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur could not confirm the identities.
The fire started about 450m below the tunnel's entrance of the coal mine located about 3km from the Kuching-Sri Aman main road in Sarawak province at 8:45am when 119 miners, including 10 Bangladeshis, were working.
The blast was believed to have been caused by sparks from a faulty extractor fan which leaked gas, causing an explosion in a 69m-deep tunnel.
“There was an explosion when a switch for the conveyor belt was turned on,” Sri Aman Fire and Rescue Department Chief Ranger Moos said.
The mine has been closed until the Department's Hazardous Materials Team evaluates the safety of the tunnel.
The last explosion at a coal mine in the state killed four Chinese nationals in Abok in 2012.
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