Rescue teams pulled more bodies from the rubble of a five-storey building collapse in Karachi overnight, taking the toll on Saturday to 15 as the recovery operation continued for a second day,
The five-storey building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market had already been declared uninhabitable by authorities due to its dilapidated structure, which was further weakened by recent rains, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed to Dawn.com that the toll had risen to 15.
“Rescue operation is still underway in Baghdadi, Lyari where the building had collapsed on Friday,” DIG Raza told Dawn.com.
Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and the use of shoddy construction materials.
Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding and lax enforcement of building regulations.
The deceased included nine men, six women and a child, according to a statement by Rescue 1122. Their bodies had been taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). Five others were injured, the rescue service said.
However, a list of casualties provided by Dr Syed stated that the deceased included six men, as many women, a girl and a boy.
Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, leading the Rescue 1122 efforts at the scene, told AFP the operation continued through the night “without interruption”. “It may take eight to 12 hours more to complete,” he said.
Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told AFP.
The incident came 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.
‘Hinderances’ in rescue efforts
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan said the incident had reportedly occurred between 9am and 9:30am. However, they said they received the information late due to the suspension of communication networks, he added.
Mobile services are usually suspended in certain areas due to security concerns during Muharram.
Sindh Rescue 1122 Director General (DG) Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, in a statement, said yesterday there were hindrances during the rescue operation due to the “unruly crowd, various road blockades and mobile network [issues]”.
Heavy machinery faced difficulty in reaching the site amid the narrow alleys of Lyari, a low-income neighbourhood.
Police even had to baton-charge a crowd that had gathered around the site to make way for machinery, officials added.
The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) said it had declared the plot as dangerous through its Technical Committee for Dangerous Buildings after a thorough inspection conducted in October 2022.
The authority said it had issued three ejectment notices to the residents since then, as well as asked K-Electric, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to disconnect utility services.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah sought a report on the collapse and details of dilapidated buildings from the SBCA.
Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said a high-level committee has been formed that will submit a report on the incident by Monday. He lamented that residents did not evacuate the building despite being served notices previously.
The minister also ordered the suspension of the related officials at the SBCA.
Previous deadly building collapses
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.
In October 2023, five people were killed and four others injured when an under-construction building collapsed in Shah Faisal Colony.
The city witnessed two such incidents within 72 hours in September 2020, claiming the lives of at least three people and injuring over a dozen.
Lyari also faced a similar incident in June 2020, when 22 people were killed after a five-storey residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed.
A building collapse in Karachi’s Gulbahar area in March 2020 killed 27 people. A similar 2011 incident in Lyari’s Musa Lane neighbourhood took 33 lives.
