Man buried under rubble rescued alive 16 days after mine collapse in KP’s Mardan

PESHAWAR: A man, who was earlier presumed dead, was “miraculously” found alive on Thursday from the site of a mine collapse 16 days after the incident that took place in the Rustam tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district, the Rescue 1122 said.

The rescue service said in a statement that the man was rescued from a tunnel in the Darang area.

Eight workers were killed in the marble mine collapse on March 31 while two others were injured. One labourer, identified as Khyber from Mohmand district, was also reported missing.

In a video statement, Rescue 1122 media coordinator in Mardan Syed Abbas said that the man found alive today from underneath the debris had been identified as Abdul Wahab.

He pointed out that one of the deceased was also identified as Abdul Wahab, hailing from Mohmand, initially. He said that it was now being feared that Khyber had been killed in the incident.

Abbas said the rescued man was being provided medical treatment at Mardan Medical Complex, and the Mardan deputy commissioner and Rescue 1122’s district emergency officer had constituted a committee to investigate the incident and verify the identities of the victims.

He said the mining department and district administration had also participated in the rescue operation.

Several people had also been reported trapped inside the mine when the incident took place, and they have been rescued. Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi told Dawn that the rescue operation had concluded following the recovery the man identified as Abdul Wahab.