PESHAWAR: A collapse at a marble quarry in a remote area of Pakistan on Monday has killed at least 17 people, and 11 others are missing, police said, adding that the terrain may have been unstable due to the use of heavy explosives used to break apart the stone.
Rescue workers, including Pakistani soldiers, continued to dig through the rubble to find survivors on Tuesday.
The quarry is located in the Ziarat area of Mohmand in western Pakistan, along the border with Afghanistan. The area is known for its high quality white marble, both sold in Pakistan and exported to other countries.
Between 40 and 50 people were at the site at the time of the collapse which occurred Monday evening, Tariq Habib, district police chief of Mohmand district told Reuters.
“Usually a large number of people work in these marble mines but luckily a majority had finished work and returned home,” he said.
Nine people were injured. The number of fatalities was unclear because some families took bodies of loved ones directly to their homes from the site, said Sameen Shinwari, a doctor at the Ghalanai District Headquarters Hospital, about 50 kilometers away.
Cellular signals and other communication facilities are unreliable in large parts of Mohmand district, including the area where the quarry is located.
Deadly mining accidents are not uncommon in Pakistan.
At least 10 workers were killed in a rockslide at a marble quarry in the northwestern district of Buner in February. Thirty workers were killed in explosions at two coal mines in the southwestern city of Quetta in 2018.
In 2011, 45 workers were also killed by an explosion at a coal mine outside Quetta.
Marble quarry collapse in remote Pakistan kills at least 17
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Marble quarry collapse in remote Pakistan kills at least 17
- Rescue workers, including Pakistani soldiers, continued to dig through the rubble to find survivors on Tuesday
- 40 and 50 people were at the site at the time of the collapse which occurred Monday evening
Pakistan telecom regulator urges restraint on social media amid regional tensions
- PTA warns against sharing unverified content, says legal action may follow ‘fake news’
- Advisory comes as Pakistan strikes targets in Afghanistan and Iran faces US, Israeli attacks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecom regulator on Saturday urged citizens to avoid sharing “unverified or inflammatory” content online, warning that legal action could be taken against those spreading misinformation amid what it described as a “sensitive national situation.”
The advisory from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) comes as Islamabad says it is targeting militant positions inside Afghanistan following a recent flareup between the two neighbors, while Iran is under attack by the United States and Israel in an escalating regional conflict that has heightened security concerns across South and West Asia.
“In view of the prevailing sensitive national situation, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) urges all citizens to be responsible while using social media and digital platforms,” the regulator said in a statement posted on X.
The PTA advised citizens “not to share, disseminate, forward, or upload any unverified, inflammatory, or misleading information/content that may directly or indirectly harm the national interest, public order, or state institutions.”
It said people should instead rely on authentic information based on official sources and refrain from spreading rumors and “fake news.”
“Sharing any fake news/information is liable to legal action in accordance with applicable laws,” the authority said, calling on citizens to act with “caution, maturity, and a strong sense of national responsibility” to help maintain stability and public confidence.
Pakistan in recent years has witnessed increasingly stringent implementation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), a cybercrime law that has drawn criticism from rights groups, with journalists and activists arrested and prosecuted under its provisions.
