A Pakistani official confirmed Monday that 45 miners have died in a coal mine gas explosion in the country's southwestern Balochistan province.

Mr Aslam Bizenjo Balochistan’s minister for irrigation told the provincial assembly that 45 miners have been confirmed dead while 24 bodies have been recovered.

He said that the operation is underway to pull other bodies out of the rubbles.

Mr Bizenjo said that the rescue operation may take several more hours to take the trapped miners out of the pit since Sunday morning.

The rescue team said they have rescued four injured miners. Troops have also been called out to help in rescue operation as hopes for the remaining trapped miners are diminishing.

Earlier reports suggested that there were 52 miners working at different levels of the mine, which are about 61 meters to 305 meters deep underground, when the disaster happened.

The mine is run by the state owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation and officials said they will launch an investigation into why the warnings to stop mining were not heeded.

Rich in mineral wealth, Baluchistan is plagued by an insurgency blamed on nationalist tribesmen demanding more jobs and royalties from the region's natural resources. Hundreds of people have died in the violence since 2004.

Most coal mines in the impoverished province are notorious for overseeing poor safety standards and similar deadly accidents have occurred in the past.

(Sourced from Xinhua)