The blast struck Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation’s Sor-Range Collieries about 16 kilometres east of the Baluchistan provincial capital of Quetta, according to Deutsche Press.

The force of the explosion collapsed the wooden supports at many points underground, according to the AAP, which also reported that the state-run mine was declared to be dangerous two weeks earlier due to methane levels.

This warning was reportedly ignored by a contracting company at the mine.

While 43 bodies have reportedly been recovered, earlier fears that the death toll could reach 52 have been revised down in subsequent reports.

This could indicate that officials did not know how many workers were underground at the time of the disaster.

Associated Press quoted an official as saying there was a “zero per cent chance” of any more survivors.

The mine hosts 12.96 million tons of coal reserves and produced 60,404t in the 2009-2010 financial year.

The Lakrah Collieries room and pillar operation has the highest production out of PMDC’s four underground coal mines, reaching 157,446t in the recent financial year.