11 miners killed, 05 injured as marble mine collapsed in KPK province
Casualties might increase as some miners are still trapped under heavy rubble
11 miners
have been killed and five others injured as the result of marble mine collapse in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mohmand district. The rescue operations are under way to rescue
the trapped miners under the rubble.
Dozens were
still trapped under the rubble as army troops were assisting the district
administration to rescue them, according to the deputy commissioner Mohmand.
“Huge pieces
of marble from a hill fell on a routine gathering of 50-60 people [on the foothill],”
he said, adding that heavy machinery had been dispatched from nearby districts
to accelerate the rescue operation.
The incident
happened in Tehsil Safi of Mohmand district in former tribal areas. The local
miners were working at a marble mine located at Ziarat Ghar Mountain in Safi
tehsil of Mohmand collapsed as the result of landslide.
A district
administration official quoted locals as saying that at least 25 people were
missing after the rockslide. The remote area does not have mobile and internet
coverage, the official added.
In February,
nine labourers were killed and seven others injured in a marble mine
slide in KP's Buner district. In 2015, some 12 labourers were killed after a
marble mine collapsed in Mohmand.
The lack of
safety tools, measures and often dangerous working conditions caused the mine
incidents and causalities of miners. Despite the fact that the owners of the
marble mines earned billions of rupees as profits but hardly spend money on
improving the safety and working conditions of miners. The KPK government is
not doing enough to improve the safety and working conditions of miners.
Mohmand, one
of seven former semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan, is famous for
marble reserves.
R K Bhatti
Your write up is well in time.Inspite of all efforts nothing is done in safety & compensation.
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