-Seven still missing in Mohmand marble mine incident
MOHMAND: At least 21 people have died at a marble mine in Mohmand district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province after a rockslide, Provincial Labour Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said on Tuesday.
During his visit to the incident site, Shaukat Yousafzai said that around 35 people were working at the marble mine at the time of the incident. “We have recovered 21 bodies from the debris of the caved-in mine as seven people are still missing,” he said.
He said that the rescue teams reached to the site of the incident soon after receiving reports of the collapse. “It was a difficult rescue operation carried out by rescue workers and Pakistan Army teams,” he said while lauding their efforts.
Shaukat Yousafzai further announced to launch a probe regarding the collapse of the marble mine and said that it needs a thorough probe as to how it caved-in even when there was no blasting process ongoing at the time of the incident.
He further announced financial assistance for dead and injured labourers from the provincial labour department.It is pertinent to mention here that the marble mine in Safi Tehsil of Mohmand tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa collapsed during the blasting process, trapping dozens of miners under the debris on Monday.
Soon after the incident, DPO Tariq Habib said the bodies of 14 labourers have been retrieved. He said that a search operation was currently underway, adding that 11 more people are still feared to be trapped under the rubble.
Earlier, The death toll from a rockslide in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mohmand district rose to 19 on Tuesday after six more bodies were pulled from the rubble by rescue officials and two of the injured died. In a statement earlier today, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) director general said nine injured had been rescued so far. A spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Bilal Faizi later said that most of those injured were in a serious condition, adding that two of them died while receiving treatment at Mohmand Hospital. At least five people are still buried beneath the rubble, Faizi said.
“An operation to rescue those trapped underneath the rubble is currently underway. Five ambulances and one recovery vehicle have been sent to Mohmand from Peshawar,” according to the PDMA director general.
He added that the authority was closely coordinating with the district administration and the relevant departments. Between 40 and 50 people were at the site at the time of the collapse which occurred on Monday evening, Tariq Habib, district police chief of Mohmand district told media.
“Usually a large number of people work in these marble mines but luckily a majority had finished work and returned home,” he said.
Meanwhile, PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the deaths of people in the incident. “Hope the government will extend help and financial assistance to the families of the victims in these difficult times,” he said in a tweet.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident. He also called upon the provincial government to fulfill its duty by rescuing those trapped underneath the rubble and by providing the injured with medical aid.
“Immediate and effective steps are needed to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future,” he said. Bilawal also called upon party workers to assist in the rescue operation.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry added that working conditions for labourers were extremely bad. “Provincial governments should ensure the strict implementation of labour laws,” he said in a tweet, adding that he hoped the KP government would stand with the families of those killed in the incident. On Monday, huge parts of the famous Ziarat marble mountain in Safi tehsil of Mohmand tribal district fell onto several nearby mines.
Eleven bodies and five injured were pulled out from under the rubble and shifted to Ghalanai Hospital, Rescue 1122 had said in a statement, adding that more people were feared trapped under the debris. A district administration official had quoted locals as saying that at least 25 people were missing after the rockslide.–Agencies
