Rescuer workers search for bodies at the site of a marble mine that collapsed in Mohmand, Pakistan, near the Afghan border, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. Pakistani officials said rescue crews using heavy machinery have pulled eight more bodies from the mine in the country's northwest. This raises the death toll from Monday's incident to more than 15. (AP Photo/Zubair Khan)
Republished September 08, 2020 - 1:22 PM
Original Publication Date September 07, 2020 - 9:06 AM
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Rescue crews using heavy machinery recovered 14 more bodies from a collapsed marble mine in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the death toll from the incident to 22, officials said.
The cause of the cave-in had not been determined. Mining accidents are common in Pakistan, where safety regulations are often ignored.
An estimated 35 miners were loading marble onto trucks Monday when huge boulders fell on them at the mine in the Mohmand district near the Afghan border.
The first eight bodies were pulled out the same day, while 14 more were retrieved after daylong rescue operation Tuesday, said Khateer Ahmad, who heads the state-run emergency service in the northwest.
He said there were still more miners trapped under the huge boulders.
According to the provincial labour minister, Shaukat Yousafzai, the cave-in also injured nine miners.
There was speculation among local residents that explosives were detonated to extract the marble, triggering a rockslide. Officials said an investigation was still underway to determine the cause of the cave-in.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020