Mohmand mine tragedy: Four workers still missing as death toll hits 21

GHALLANAI: The death toll from the Ziarat marble mine collapse incident has jumped to 21 as the rescue activities were taking place to retrieve the trapped labourers.

The bodies of the dead had deformed as heavy boulders fell on them when the quarry crumbled. The rescue workers were busy looking for the bodies of the trapped people. However, efforts were hampered due to lack of heavy machinery. Four mineworkers, including Tariq Khan, Zafar Khan, Attaullah and Tilawat Khan, were missing while the rescue workers were facing difficulties due to lack of heavy machinery to remove the debris.

The body of an unidentified man was lying at the morgue of the district headquarters hospital in Ghallanai. Commissioner Peshawar Amjad Ali, Special Assistant to Chief Minister of Mines and Minerals Mohammad Arif Ahamdzai and Inspector General of Frontier Corps (IGFC), North, Maj Gen Rahat Naseem and director general PDMA visited the spot and supervised the rescue activities. On behalf of the provincial government, Commissioner Peshawar Amjad Ali announced Rs300,000 compensation for the families of each dead.

The IGFC announced compensation amounting Rs100,000 for the family of each dead and Rs50,000 for each injured. A large number of people attended the funeral prayers of the deceased labourers. The atmosphere of gloom and sorrow prevailed in the area after the tragedy. On Monday, 10 labourers were killed and eight others sustained injuries when the Ziarat marble mine collapsed in the Safi tehsil in Mohmand tribal district. However, the death toll jacked up to 21 when the bodies of 11 mineworkers were pulled out from the rubble.

Talking to reporters, local elders Malik Abdul Haleem Safi, Taj Mohammad, social worker Saeed Khan and others said that though the local administration officials were making efforts to remove the debris, they were facing problems as they did not have heavy machinery.

They demanded the government to term the incident as national tragedy and compensate the victims as per the relevant rules and regulations. The dead were identified as Hakim Khan, Samiullah, Alamgir Khan, Rahimullah, Fida Mohammad, Abdul Wahid, Roohullah, Kashif, Amjad, and Waheed.