MUZAFFARABAD: Rescuers were desperately trying to recover five workers trapped in a coalmine near here on Sunday but there were bleak chances of their survival.

The incident was reported from Seri Darra village at about 6:30pm, after a gas explosion led to the collapse of mine stopes, Deputy Commissioner of Muzaffarabad Masoodur Rehman told Dawn from the site at 11pm.

SeriDarraislocatedtowards the east of Muzaffarabad, at an hour-long drive through a steep hilly road.

`At the time of explosion, seven workers were inside the mine. Two of them, who were near the mouth of the tunnel, rushed out, but the remaining five were trapped inside,` Mr Rehman said.

`They are trapped some 800 feet ahead of the mine`s mouth and so far the rescuers have been able to reach some 700 feet,` he added.

He said that since the workers were trapped for more than five hours, chances of their survival were bleak.

The trapped workers belong to Swat.

Reports suggested that the mining activity was being carried out in the area without a lawful permission.

However, Mr Rehman said the issue would be investigated later.

`At the moment our foremost concern is to recover the workers,` he said.

Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, generally incompetent rock, leakage or explosion of poisonous gases and coal dust, collapsing of mine stopes or general mechanical errors from improperly used or malfunctioning mining equipment.