At least 10 people died and nine were injured after a five-storey building collapsed in Lyari area, Pakistan's Karachi on Friday, according to the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute Of Trauma (SMBBIT).
According to data from the institute at Civil Hospital Karachi, nine bodies were brought to the hospital while one person died during treatment, News.Az reports, citing Pakistani media.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed also confirmed the same number of deaths.
SMBBIT Executive Director Dr Sabir Memon said that among the injured people, six were discharged after being provided treatment.
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 heavy rescue machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way, AFP reported.
Speaking to reporters at the site of the incident, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the government needed to “take action”, noting that there were around 434 buildings in the Old City area that had been declared “dangerous” by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). A statement by the authority put the number of such buildings across Karachi at 588.
“We have two options: to convince people to move out or force them to evacuate,” Wahab said, adding that any government tries not to take any forced action but to convince people.
“This loss of lives today shows that when the state or the government tells you anything, you should follow it.”
The mayor requested the inhabitants of such dilapidated buildings to evacuate as soon as possible to prevent any unpleasant incident and loss of life or property.
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.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaan Ul Haseeb Khan told Dawn.com that the incident reportedly occurred between 9-9:30am but due to disruption of the communication network, the department received the information late.
He said that as per the residents and relatives, there were still 20-25 people stuck in the rubble and the rescue operation was still under way. He said some families had already realised the gravity of the situation and begun leaving with a few of them having already left the building as its structure had started to deteriorate after the recent rains.
