Worker rescued alive 16 days after Mardan mine collapse

PESHAWAR: A worker was pulled out alive on Thursday from the site of a marble mine collapse in Rustam tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district, 16 days after the incident, according to Rescue 1122.

In a statement, the rescue service said the man was recovered from a tunnel in the Darang area. The mine collapse had taken place on March 31, leaving eight workers dead and two others injured.

One labourer, identified earlier as Khyber from Mohmand district, had also been reported missing after the collapse. In a video statement, Rescue 1122 media coordinator in Mardan Syed Abbas said the man found alive beneath the debris on Thursday had been identified as Abdul Wahab.

Abbas said one of the deceased had initially also been identified as Abdul Wahab and was said to be from Mohmand. He added that it was now feared that Khyber may have died in the incident.

The rescued worker was shifted to Mardan Medical Complex, where he was being given medical treatment, Abbas said. He added that the Mardan deputy commissioner and Rescue 1122’s district emergency officer had formed a committee to investigate the incident and confirm the identities of the victims.

According to Abbas, the mining department and the district administration also took part in the rescue effort. He said several people had been trapped inside the mine when it collapsed and had since been rescued.

Rescue 1122 described the recovery as “miraculously” finding the man alive after more than two weeks under the rubble.

Rescue operation concludes

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi told Dawn that the rescue operation had ended after the recovery of the man identified as Abdul Wahab.

The development came more than two weeks after the collapse at the marble mine in Mardan’s Rustam tehsil. Officials are now working to determine the identities of those killed and missing through the committee constituted by the district administration and rescue authorities.

The incident had initially left multiple workers trapped inside the mine. Rescue officials said those trapped had been recovered, with Thursday’s rescue marking the final major development in the operation.

“miraculously”

Authorities have said the investigation committee will look into the incident and verify the identities of the victims as confusion remained over whether one of the dead had been misidentified and whether the missing labourer Khyber was among those killed.