At least seven people were killed and another injured after a landslide struck a mountainous area in Kohat district, located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, officials said.
Speaking to Nukta, Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi confirmed that eight people were trapped under debris when the hillside collapsed in the village of Qamar in Gumbat tehsil. “Seven bodies were recovered from the rubble, while one survivor, identified as Faizan, was rescued with injuries and taken to hospital for treatment,” Faizi said.
The deceased were identified as Talat, Fayyaz, Abid, Riyaz, Daniyal, Sabir, and Faraz.
Faizi said the rescue operation involved over 30 personnel, three ambulances, and a disaster response vehicle. “Rescue workers completed the operation in four to five hours, risking their lives due to a cavity in the mountain that posed a constant threat of further collapse,” he added.
According to local sources, the victims had been engaged in illegal gold mining, which is banned in the district under Section 144. “The miners had dug a tunnel into the mountain and were attempting to extract gold when the hillside gave way,” sources said.
Rahimullah Mehsud, Deputy Commissioner of Kohat, told Nukta that Section 144 prohibits all mining activities in the area, including the use of machinery or mining tools. He noted that local laborers from nearby villages continued to extract gold by hand despite the ban.
Mehsud added that since the ban was imposed in August 2025, police and the district administration have conducted multiple raids, arrested individuals involved in illegal mining, and confiscated machinery. Nevertheless, locals occasionally attempt manual mining, putting themselves at risk.
The deputy commissioner confirmed that no contractor was involved in the incident. Authorities stressed that enforcement of Section 144 remains strict to prevent further accidents and ensure public safety.
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