11 bodies recovered from phosphate mine in Abbottabad

48-hour long rescue operation by Rescue 1122 team, Pakistan Army ended today.

BATKINALA, ABBOTTABAD:
A 48-hour long rescue operation ended as 11 bodies were pulled out from the rubble of a phosphate mine in Abbottabad on Friday. The mine had caved in on January 25.

The accident occurred in Batkinala, a remote village in Abbottabad district, when 11 mine workers, including two owners, were buried alive as a heavy mass of the phosphate mine fell on them. They were reportedly having lunch at the mouth of the mine, sources said.

Attempts to launch a rescue operation were made as soon as villagers contacted police and district administration officials, but the mine is located at a steep point which is inaccessible by land.

A rescue operation was carried out by the Rescue 1122 team and Pakistan Army personnel. Residents also helped carrying out the rescue operation.


Sniffer dogs were also used to find the bodies.

DCO Abbottabad Imtiaz Hussain confirmed that 11 mine workers had died. He said they were working on a private mine, which was not managed by the mineral department.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority Spokesman Adnan Khan confirmed the names of the dead as: Naseem Shah s/o Bashir Shah, Waheed Shah s/o Sabaz Shah, Muzafar s/o Sabaz Shah and Saeed Shah s/o Muzafar Shah from Guldania village, Javed s/o Samandar and Zakir s/o Abdul Rehman from Tahari village, Abdul Raziq s/o Abdul Karim and M Younas s/o M Maskeen from Paga village, Riaz s/o Gohar Rehman from Batkanala village and Nadeem s/o Aurangzeb from Nana Shingalia village.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT BY IFTIKHAR FIRDOUS IN PESHAWAR.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated PDMA as Pakistan Disaster Management Authority. It stands for Provincial Disaster Management Authority. The error is regretted.
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