ABBOTTABAD: At least three miners were killed and three others injured when a phosphate mine collapsed during routine operations in the Rewaiya area of Malakan, Havelian tehsil, on Tuesday, police said.
According to officials, six workers were trapped after the mine, operated by contractor Nawab Ali, suddenly caved in.
Rescue teams launched an immediate operation, recovering the bodies of three victims identified as Muzammil, Miftah and Shoaib — all residents of Gilgit.
The three injured — Zia (residence unconfirmed), Naveed, son of Khawaja, and Anjum, son of Javed, both from Malakan — were pulled from the rubble and shifted to a local hospital in Havelian in serious condition.
Police and rescue authorities said that efforts were under way to secure the site and rule out the possibility of more people being trapped.
The cause of the collapse remained unclear, though initial reports suggested that safety protocols were not being observed at the mine. An investigation has been launched.
In August, Pakistan army, in a joint operation with Rescue 1122, rescued the four miners who were trapped in an emerald mine in Babuzai in Swat.
Officials from the Mines Department had told HUM News English that the collapse occurred around 8pm in a licenced mining area in Malookabad in Mingora.
The incident occurred when workers were inside the underground mine, extracting emeralds, and a section of the mine’s roof suddenly caved in, burying four miners under the rubble.
Rescue teams from the Pakistan Army launched the operation to recover the labourers from under the debris. After hours of effort, all four were safely pulled out.