Search operation continues as several remain underneath rubble of collapsed building.
PHOTO: FILE
Rescue operations continued for a second day with 13 more deceased - including six members of one family - pulled out of the rubble.
The bodies were shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital for medico-legal formalities. The deceased were identified as 50-year-old Shehnaz, 20-year-old Shehzad, 23-year-old Saeed, 32-year-old Memoona, 52-year-old Tofeeq and 30-year-old Faisal, 25-year-old Bihar, 60-year-old Kaleem, 30-year-old Saleem and 28-year-old Shaukat. The body of one woman could not be identified until the filing of this report.
The funeral rites of the six deceased of one family were held after Asr prayers on Tuesday and the burial took place in Gulbai Cemetery. The family had lived on the first floor of the five-storey building, and rescue workers said that the search for one missing member of the family was underway.
Rescue operation
Rescue efforts continued late into the night, with the help of officials from Pakistan Army’s engineering corps. Army officials also used sniffer dogs to try to locate those trapped under the debris, while the police and Rangers officials cordoned off the congested area.
The rubble is being discarded at the dumping site, with officials proceeding cautiously so as to not harm any of the affectees who remain to be found.
Earlier in the day, Ranger director general (DG) in Sindh also visited the site of the incident and reviewed rescue efforts. On his directions, Rangers teams continued to assist the local administration in carrying out the rescue work.
Speaking on the occasion, the Rangers DG said that those affected by the collapse had their complete support during these hard times and lauded the law enforcement personnel and rescue workers for their all-out efforts to help the victims.
Meanwhile, residents of the collapsed building as well as others from surrounding apartments, which have been vacated, told The Express Tribune that there were several more persons under the rubble, including a family of eight.
Raheema, a resident of the collapsed apartment building, said that she had moved in only four months ago along with her eight children. She said that the notice to vacate the building had been issued before Ramazan but the owner of the building had assured residents that there was nothing to worry about.
According to Raheema, the building jolted twice and some of the residents had fled their residences just seconds before it caved in. All of their belongings were lost as the building collapsed and she and her family have nowhere to go now, she lamented. Raheema bemoaned that it has been two days now and no help has come their way.
The affected residents have been asking the authorities to help them and provide alternative accommodation.
Risky structures
The building had reportedly been declared dangerous by the SBCA’s technical team after an inspection survey on March 16. The SBCA had also issued a notice to the residents on March 18, directing them to vacate the building within 15 days.
The authority has declared at least 250 structures in the city ‘dangerous,’ with most of them located in the South district.
According to sources, the SBCA had also issued letters to the relevant agencies to cut off the utility connections when it wasn’t vacated, but in vain.
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