QUETTA: Seven workers were abducted after eight unidentified armed men raided a private mining site in Mahian Kaur, Chagai district, and took away equipment and other valuables worth millions of rupees, sources said.
The incident took place around 1:00pm on Tuesday at a private mine located about 15 to 18 kilometres west of Chagai town. The armed men arrived on motorcycles, held the mine staff hostage and took seven workers with them before fleeing the area.
The abducted workers included four labourers from Gilgit — Wajahat, Wajid, Shahid and Sabir — and three local workers identified as Ziauddin of Dalbandin, Shah Saleem of Mahian, Chagai, and Saeed Muhammad, also a resident of Mahian.
According to sources at the mine, the armed men remained at the site until around 7:00pm and took away a number of items, including a Zambad vehicle, a four-wheel-drive pickup, more than 20 solar panels, a motorcycle, bedding and kitchen equipment.
They also reportedly took 2,500 litres of diesel and 1,500 litres of petrol, along with other equipment and supplies.
Mine sources said the attackers stayed at the site for several hours and carried out the operation without resistance before escaping with the abducted workers and equipment.
The incident was promptly reported to the relevant authorities. However, the seven workers and the equipment taken from the mine had not been recovered at the time of filing this report.
The administration has launched efforts to trace the abducted workers and recover the stolen property, while further investigation into the incident is under way.
