MOHMAND: The death toll in the Ziarat mines’ collapse in Mohmand tribal district climbed to 21 as 11 more bodies were recovered on Tuesday.

According to sources, about 21 bodies and nine injured have been recovered and seven people are still missing under the rubble of the collapsed mines.

Huge parts of the famous Ziarat marble mountain in Saifi tehsil of Mohmand tribal district collapsed on Monday evening, causing large boulders to fall on workers present there.

Provincial Labour Minister Shaukat Yousafzai, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Minerals Arif Ahmad Zia, provincial Minister Anwar Zeb, the inspector general of Frontier Corps, Peshawar Commissioner Amjad Ali Khan and other officials visited the site of the marble mines.

The rescue operation continued at the site on the second consecutive day on Tuesday. Personnel of Pakistan Army, Rescue 1122 teams and local people were engaged in the rescue operation.

Talking to media personnel, Mr Yousafzai said that about 34 to 35 people were working in the marble mines when it collapsed. He said 21 bodies had been recovered while seven people were still missing.

“The rescue operation is under way for several hours. Pakistan Army personnel, rescue teams and local people are participating in the rescue work,” he said.

“We are trying our level’s best to recover the missing persons,” he said, adding that “I salute all the rescue workers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army who are taking part in the rescue operation”.

The labour minister said that the labour department would provide financial support to affected people. He said the rescue operation would take another day to complete.

He said an investigation would be conducted to ascertain causes of the incident, adding that anyone found responsible for any negligence would be taken to task.

The labour minister said that for safety of mine workers outdated methods in the local mining industry should be changed. There was a need to introduce modern techniques in the local mining industry for improving the safety methods for workers, he added.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2020