Around 45,000 people, including children, work in an estimated 1,500 quarries in Egypt. The work carries a high risk of amputation, electrocution and various respiratory and skin diseases.
Updated: April 06, 2015, 12:00 AM
One of Egypt’s most dangerous jobs – in pictures
A limestone quarry in the desert of Minya, Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Quarry workers are transported in pickup trucks after dawn from Shurafa village, Minya, southern Egypt. Around 45,000 people, including children, work in an estimated 1,500 quarries, digging out stones that later will be used in construction or powdered to be used by pharmaceutical and ceramic companies. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Quarry workers use machinery with sharp rotor blades to cut through limestone pits in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
A quarry worker wears a face mask to protect from dust tries to stay balanced while arranging cut stones at a quarry in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Quarry workers use machinery with sharp rotor blades to cut through limestone pits at a quarry in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Limestone quarry workers pose for a portrait at work in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt. From left: Agayeb Bushra, 35; Kirollos Aziz Bushra, 27; Samuel Fahim, 17 and Ayman Kamel, 18. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Quarry workers use machinery with sharp rotor blades to cut through limestone pits at a quarry in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Limestone quarry workers walk through a cloud of dust spewed into the air by rotor blades of the stone-cutting machinery in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
A spare rotor blade is stored in a limestone quarry in the desert of Minya, Egypt. The ultra sharp blades are the main tools used to cut through limestone pits at high velocity and is the main cause of injuries among quarry workers. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Electric wires running machinery are connected to a makeshift fuse at quarry in the desert of Minya, Egypt. Injuries from electrocution are not uncommon among quarry workers who may step on exposed wires that snake across the entire quarry. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Bags filled with limestone powder are arranged for transport at quarry in the desert of Minya, Egypt. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo
Quarry workers sit after dawn in a pick-up truck ready to be transported to work in Minya, southern Egypt. Quarry managers looking for labourers drive to the bridge and transport a select few to the quarries, according to the demand of quarry owners on that particular day. Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP Photo