At least 15 coal miners were killed, while more than two dozen others remain trapped after a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in the Sorange coalfield in Pakistan's Balochistan province, local media reported on Friday.

According to the officials, 24 miners were working about 4,000 feet underground when the explosion took place at a private coal mine, Pakistan-based daily Dawn reported. A fire erupted in the mine after the explosion, resulting in the collapse of the structure.