United Nations flight operations rescues Afghan de-miner

Islamabad (Office of the United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan), 17 January 2001 - On Tuesday 16 January, the Office of the United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan made an emergency flight to Khost in eastern Afghanistan to save the life of an injured Afghan de-miner.
Ziahuddin, son of Mohammad, age 42, was working as a de-miner with Section 1, Team 7, Afghan Technical Consultants' Project #3, in a minefield in the village of Mandozai, outside Khost City. Following standard procedure, he was using a bayonet to unearth a mine when the device exploded. The bayonet pierced his shoulder, while the blast from the mine melted the visor of his protective helmet, causing severe injuries to his head and face. The mine was a PMN anti-personnel mine containing 210 grammes of high explosives. The accident occurred at 10:25 a.m. local time.

The paramedics that accompany each de-mining team initially determined that Ziahuddin's condition was serious, but did not warrant emergency evacuation. However, by afternoon, his condition deteriorated and was adjudged critical. The flight operations section of the Office of the UN Co-ordinator made immediate arrangements to deploy a plane to Khost, where UN planes have not travelled for the past two years. Ziahuddin was rescued at 5 p.m. and arrived in Islamabad at 6 p.m. He was immediately removed to a local hospital, where he underwent prolonged life saving surgery. "As serious as Ziahuddin's injuries are, he would have died without FlightOps quick response, " said Dan Kelly, manager of the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA). Apart for flying the normal schedule to various destinations inside Afghanistan, United Nations Flight Operations also undertakes relocations, relief and peace mission flights and medical evacuations such as the one on Tuesday which saved Ziahuddin's life.

The oldest and the largest mine action programme in the world, MAPA has removed over 1.5 million explosive devices from Afghan soil in the ten years of its operation. With a staff of 4,700, it is the second largest employer of Afghans that offers stable paid employment. Injuries and deaths of mine action personnel in Afghanistan reached an all time low in 2000, when ten staff were injured and four killed in mine incidents.

Originally from Kunduz Province, Ziahuddin is married and has five children. Highly experienced in mine removal, he has worked for Afghan Technical Consultants for the last ten years. His condition is now serious but stable.

For more information, please call Dan Kelly, Manager, Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan, 2211451, x 652; Stephanie Bunker, 2211451 x 415.