13 dead, over 30 injured as five-storey residential building collapses in Karachi

Rescue workers say residents are trapped under the rubble

KARACHI: At least 13 people died and dozens others sustained injuries when a five-storey residential building in Karachi's Rizvia Society collapsed on Thursday.

Karachi Metropolitan Cooperation Director Medical and Health Services Dr Salma Kauser confirmed that 13 people had been died in the accident.

At least 32 people sustained injuries and two of them with serious wounds have been shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), she added.

“The lists of all those injured and dead in the building collapse have also been placed outside the hospital,” the medical officer said.

There is no shortage of the medicine, she added.

According to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital MLO Dr Sohail Khan, five women and two children were among the deceased.

Police and Sindh Rangers personnel also reached the incident site to assist in the rescue effort. Locals were seen digging through the rubble and were trying to rescue those trapped.

Families of the victims, however, express dissatisfaction with the rescue efforts.

A contingent of engineers from the Pakistan Army has also arrived at the scene to assist rescue officials. Initial reports suggest the building was constructed two years ago.

Taking notice of the incident, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Ali Shallwani to ensure people are safely recovered from the rubble. The chief minister also sought a detailed report, questioning whether the building was a legal construction.

In January, the city administration directed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to vacate the 382 residential buildings declared ‘dangerous’.

The majority of the earmarked buildings are located in Saddar, where 295 residential buildings have been declared dangerous. Meanwhile, 44 buildings are in Lyari. Out of the 382 dangerous buildings, 339 were located in South district, 14 in East district and 10 in Central district.

SBCA official Askhar Dawar lamented that evacuation notices had been served to the buildings’ owners but they were not implementing the orders of the building control authority.