Two sisters killed in building collapse

Residents had evacuated the illegally constructed structure

KARACHI:

Two sisters were crushed to death in the rubble of a three-storey building which collapsed and tilted to one side in Karachi's PIB Colony. A woman and a child were also injured in the incident.

The building was evacuated by the family due to appearance of cracks but on Sunday the two women came to retrieve their belongings.

Sources said, a three-storey building in Sabzi Wali Gali in Ghousia Colony in PIB Colony tilted to one side. Police officials and rescue workers rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported. The collapsed building also severely affected the adjoining building. Cracks had appeared in the building for the past few days due to which the family living in the building had relocated to some other location.

On Sunday, two sisters, Reema and Fauzia, came to retrieve some belongings and were crushed to death. Their bodies were recovered after several hours of rescue operation. SHO PIB Colony Inspector Pervez Bhutto said that the family had left from here and further action had to be taken after Eid but yesterday the building suddenly tilted to one side and affected the other building as well.

He said the SBCA and other concerned agencies have also been intimated in this regard. The SHO added that two women were killed and a child Ayan son of Khalid, 7, and a woman were injured in the incident who were rushed to a hospital for medical treatment. The woman could not be immediately identified.

The SHO further said that the demolition work of the building would be carried out in the light of the report of SBCA officials. Rescue officials said that there was a huge rush of people at the site of the accident due to which they faced severe difficulties in carrying out the rescue work.

Although there is a risk of the building collapsing at any moment, there are still people converging on the site and they could be involved in any accident. MQM leader Farooq Sattar had also reached the spot after the incident and said that illegal constructions were being carried out due to corruption of the concerned agencies.