12-year-old boy falls to death in Karachi

The boy Fell about eight stories down an elevator shaft at Rainbow Centre

KARACHI: A 12-year-old boy tragically died on Saturday after falling down an elevator shaft of a residential building in Saddar.

The boy, identified as Zainullah, fell about eight stories down an elevator shaft at Rainbow Centre, which has 144 residential apartments and more than 400 shops.

Zainullah's father is a cart-pusher and Zain would assist him. The deceased was a resident of the eighth floor of Rainbow Centre, a famous commercial and residential complex in the area.



According to the family, Zainullah left the house to visit his friends who live in the same building. He rushed in as soon as the elevator doors opened, but the lift was not there and he fell, the family explained.

All four elevators in the building were out of order due to alleged negligence by the building association and administration. The family and residents of the building blamed the building's administration for the incident.

The building administration's general-secretary, Muhammad Amir, while defending his association, denied all allegations against the them. "The residents are not ready to pay the maintenance charges. Therefore, all the elevators are out of order," he claimed.

Meanwhile, police officials said that the building union has been asked to record their statements. However, the case will only be registered if any negligence or criminal act is found.

Deputy mayor Arshad Vohra also visited the site following the incident and ordered the concerned officials to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2016.