PESHAWAR: At least 12 labourers were killed and six others injured in a rockslide at a marble quarry in Mohmand Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.

According to police, a mine in Ziarat area of Safi Tehsil of Mohmand tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suddenly collapsed, killing 12 people and injuring 7 others.

Talking to journalists, DPO Tariq said the bodies of eight labourers have been retrieved while six others were still buried under the debris. He further added that bodies and injured people were being shifted to hospitals from remote areas while nothing could be said at present about those buried under the rubble.

Provincial Special Assistant for Minerals Arif Ahmadzai, while expressing grief over the incident, said that rescue operations were underway at the site. Based on preliminary information, the accident was caused by a landslide, however, a formal inquiry into the incident has been ordered, he added.

Earlier on February 22, at least 10 people had been killed and several injured in a rockslide at a marble quarry in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The district disaster management officer had said that rescuers had retrieved nine bodies and five injured from underneath tonnes of rocks in the Bampukha area of Buner. Witnesses had said that the incident had occurred around mid-day.