Six die in roof collapse

Five members of a family among deceased, four hurt

LAHORE:

At least five members of a family and a guest died and four others were injured when the roof of their home collapsed on Tuesday.

The incident took place in Texali Gate area near the Pakistan Talkie Cinema in the Walled City in the early hours of the day.

The victims were asleep in their house when the building, that was in a dilapidated condition, collapsed. They were trapped under the debris.

Hearing the loud sound of the building collapsing and subsequent screams of the residents, nearby people rushed to the spot for helping them.

They also called rescue teams. The rescuers reached the place and launched an operation to bring the victims out of the rubble.

They removed the debris and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital.

However, Javed, aged 50, Babar Ali, 2, Hassan, seven, Zagham, 56, Mrs Javed, 60, and Amina Amjad,16 were found dead.

The injured were identified as Kinza Salamat,12, Atteeqa Salamat, 23, Mehwish Javed, 17 and Hina Javed, 16.

The deceased Amina Amjad was a guest who hailed from Gujranwala and was visiting the family.

The incident reportedly occurred because the building was in a dilapidated condition.

The grandfather of the deceased children said the owner of the three-storey house was asked several times to repair the dilapidated wall but did not do so.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and demanded a report from the commissioner Lahore division.

Several fatal incidents of roof collapse had taken place in the area previously. in the walled city. The Walled City is an old area of the provincial capital currently inhabited by low-income people, mainly migrant workers. A large number of old buildings in the area are in a dilapidated condition.

Four members of a family had died in an incident of roof collapse in Akbari Gate area in January 2018. In another incident, at least five members of a family died and six were left injured after the roof of a building collapsed in Dehli Gate area near Wazir Khan Mosque. Reportedly, celebration after a marriage ceremony were going on when the roof collapsed.

At least four members of a family had died in an incident of roof collapse in Shahdara. On August 20, at least four members of a family had died in an incident of roof collapse in Harbancepura.

A few days back, at least five workers had died after roof of a warehouse caved in near Saggian Bridge.

Earlier, it was reported that heavy monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across Punjab and resulted in an average four roof collapse and eight drowning incidents daily in August in Punjab.

Data compiled by Punjab Emergency Service (PES) Rescue 1122 available with The Express Tribune showed that at least 140 incidents of building collapse and 254 of drowning emergencies were reported in Punjab during last month.

The Rescue 1122 report further revealed that the highest number of cases of building collapse was reported in Lahore and Faisalabad. In Lahore 18 and in Faisalabad 14 buildings collapsed due to rainfall. Besides, the most drowning emergencies were reported in Gujranwala where 13 people died in 20 cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2020.