Death toll reaches 22 in Lyari building collapse

KARACHI: The death toll from Lyari’s Khadda Market apartment building collapse reached 22 on Friday whereas six injured had been recovered.

According to Sindh Ranges, all debris has been cleared from the location.

"All the items found in the rubble of the building were handed over to the civil administration on the spot," Sindh Rangers said.
The items recovered from the site included cash, cell phones, electronic items, gold and artificial jewellery and other valuables.

The total worth of the goods recovered from the site is reported to be more than Rs0.2 million.



Earlier, 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.

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.