At least 7 dead, 8 injured as five-storey building collapses in Pakistan

By Imtiaz Ali (DAWN), July 4: At least seven people died and eight were injured after a five-storey building collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari area on Friday, Mayor Murtaza Wahab said.

Speaking to reporters at the site of the incident, Wahab said: “According to the reliable reports so far, seven people lost their lives, whose bodies have been taken to the hospital, and we have succeeded in saving eight people.”

Today’s incident comes days after a portion of a building collapsed in the city’s Kharadar area. However, no casualties or injuries were reported.

The Public Account Committee of the Sindh Assembly had directed the provincial government in December to take urgent steps to evacuate over 570 buildings declared “dangerous” by authorities across Karachi.

Rescue efforts were underway at the building situated on Fida Hussain Shaikha Road in Lyari’s Baghdadi neighbourhood, according to a statement from the Baghdadi police.

Pakistan Rangers, in a statement, said its personnel were also assisting in the rescue operations and “engaged in rescuing individuals trapped under the rubble”.

The deceased included three men and two women, according to a list of patients issued earlier today by Civil Hospital Karachi’s (CHK) Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma (SMBBIT).

The injured included four men, two women and a teenage girl. Five of those wounded had “minor injuries”, SMBBIT Executive Director Dr Muhammad Sabir Memon told Dawn.com.

The casualties included Fatima Babu and Hoor Bai — both aged 55 years — 21-year-old Prantic Arsi, 32-year-old Prem and 35-year-old Waseem Babu.

The injured were listed as 17-year-old Kishna Jumna Das, 25-year-old Rashid Aziz, 29-year-old Mujeeb Ali, 30-year-old Santia Chaitan and Chanda Jumma Lal, 45-year-old Ghulam Hussain, and 50-year-old Yousaf Subhan.

Saad Edhi of the Edhi Foundation described the structure to AFP as a “worn-out building”.

Police official Arif Aziz told AFP that up to 100 people had been living in the building.

Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani lamented that residents did not evacuate the building despite being served notices previously due to the unsafe conditions of the run-down structure.

Speaking to reporters at the site of the incident, Ghani said: “Not one but many notices were given to them (residents) to evacuate the building. But I can also understand the citizens’ struggle.

“On the one hand is your home in which you are residing, but on the other hand is your life,” he added, urging residents of other dilapidated structures to evacuate to avoid any disaster.

“If we forcibly make them evacuate, then also a humanitarian aspect comes forward, and we have to become a target of criticism for it,” the minister stressed.

Taking notice of the incident in a statement, Ghani ordered the top officials of the relevant authorities, including the SBCA, to reach the site of the incident to monitor the rescue efforts.

“A report on the causes of the building collapse and all its reasons should be submitted immediately,” he said in the statement issued by his media consultant, Zubair Memon.

“All obstacles around the building should be removed to speed up the rescue operation,” Ghani added.

In April, a 10-year-old girl died when a three-storey building in Bhains Colony suddenly collapsed, while a man and a woman were pulled alive from the debris.

Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and the use of shoddy construction materials.

But Karachi, home to more than 20m, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding and lax enforcement of building regulations.

Over 100 personnel at site: Rescue 1122

Sindh Rescue 1122 Director General (DG) Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, in a statement, said the service’s Central Command and Control centre received an alert of the incident at 10:53 am.

“As soon as the alert was received, the Urban Search and Rescue team, along with a disaster-response vehicle (DRV), immediately reached the site of the incident,” the Rescue 1122 DG asserted.

He detailed that over 100 rescue personnel, five DRVs, two snorkels and multiple ambulances were present at the building’s location. Cranes and lifters have also been dispatched to the site, DG Shaikh added.

He explained that there were hindrances during the rescue operation due to the “unruly crowd, various road blockades and mobile network [issues]”.

Mobile services are usually suspended in certain areas due to security concerns during Muharram.

The Rescue 1122 head affirmed that the operation would continue till the site is “cleared”.

Sindh CM seeks report

Taking notice of the incident, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed that rescue teams immediately rescue those trapped under the rubble, while immediate medical assistance be provided to the injured.

“This is an unfortunate incident; concerned authorities should submit an immediate report,” CM Murad was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesperson Abdul Rashid Channa.

CM Murad also sought details of dilapidated buildings in Karachi from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA).

“Dangerous buildings should be identified immediately and practical steps should be taken to protect citizens,” CM Murad said. “Negligence will not be tolerated; protection of human lives is the top priority.”

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori expressed his grief over the incident and ordered rescue authorities to conduct “immediate, effective, and coordinated relief operations”.

In a statement, he directed that all available resources be employed to safely rescue those trapped under the rubble, and that “every possible facility” be provided to the affected families.

“Any kind of neglect or carelessness will be intolerable,” Tessori warned.