12 killed as marble mine collapses in Mohmand

GHALLANAI: Ten labourers were killed and eight others sustained injuries when a marble mine collapsed in Safi tehsil in Mohmand tribal district, sources said on Monday.

Geo News reported late on Monday night that 12 persons were killed in the incident. The sources said that dozens of people were busy working inside the quarry when it collapsed all of a sudden late in the afternoon, trapping scores of mineworkers and trucks waiting to be loaded with marble.

Soon after the incident, the local people, district administration, police and the security forces personnel rushed to the spot and started rescue activities. It was feared that the number of casualties could further rise as the unavailability of heavy machinery hampered the efforts to rescue the trapped people.

The relatives of the trapped mineworkers arrived at the scene when they learned about the mishap and made frantic appeals for help. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Ghallanai, the headquarters of Mohmand district, Bajaur and Peshawar.

Some of the dead were identified as Fida Hussain, son of Mir Zaman, belonging to Safi tehsil, Yaseen, son of Bashir, hailing from Ambar, Shahsawar, son of Raj Wali, from Mullagori, Sherzada, son of Haider, from Safi, Mohammad Khan and Farhad, sons of Sher Khan, from Safi, Farhad Khan, son of Mir Zaman, from Ziarat Killay and Waheed, son of Mirzada, from Ziarat Killay.

The injured included Israr, son of Jamshed, Ilyas, son of Bakhtzada, Nek Mohammad and Saleh, sons of Khan Bacha, Adil, son of Khaista Rahman, Masal Khan and Obaidullah. The local people asked the government to direct the contractors to provide safety equipment to the mine workers to protect them from harm and minimise the number of casualties in case of such mishaps.

They said that the mine workers were still using rudimentary methods to extract the marble from the mines, lacking the safety gears. The Ziarat marble mine produces the famous Ziarat white marble that is in great demand in the country.