Rescue officials have been searching for two coal miners trapped inside a mine in Pakistan’s Balochistan province for nearly a month. The miners, Abdul Baqi and Sharafuddin, have been trapped since May 4th after the mine collapsed following heavy rainfall. Rescue workers have dug 900 feet into the mine and are now digging from all four sides to locate the miners, but the chances of finding them alive are quite bleak. Abdul Ghani, Balochistan’s chief inspector of mines, said that it would be a miracle if they are found alive. The families of the trapped miners have been camping close to the mine and have urged officials to hand over their bodies. According to the relatives, both men belong to families struggling with extreme poverty. They moved to Dukki from Kila Saifullah in search of a better living. Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but least populous and least developed province, where a large part of the population lives in poverty. The province contributes 50 percent of the country’s coal production, with Dukki being one of its five leading coal-rich districts. However, hazardous working conditions in the coal mines kill dozens of people every year. Landslides, methane gas blasts, and industrial accidents are among the leading causes of casualties inside the coal mines across Balochistan. Rights groups and labor associations have criticized mine owners, contractors, and the government for their failure to improve the working conditions of the coal miners despite warnings by international labor rights organizations.