Tragedy: Lahore building collapse kills 14

Rescue operation continues to save survivors.

LAHORE:

At least 14 people lost their lives while a dozen more were pulled out alive from underneath the debris of a building which collapsed following a blast at New Town near Multan Road on Monday, officials said.

A Pharmaceutical Laboratory in Hassan Town was reduced to rubble following a huge explosion at around 8:10am on Monday. Local residents described it as a boiler blast. Over 60 people were trapped under the debris, of which 22 – 14 bodies and 12 injured people – were pulled out by rescuers.

Rescue 1122 Director General Rizwan Naseer told The Express Tribune that 17 females and 45 boys were trapped under the rubble. He said a rescue operation was under way from three sides to retrieve as many survivors as possible.

He said that voices screaming for help were fading with the passage of time, adding that the operation could take more than 20 hours to complete.

Teams of Rescue 1122, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, Edhi, civil defence and personnel, and the city district government were taking part in the rescue operation.

The Orient Laboratories (Pvt) Limited, sprawling over an area of more than one Kanal, was producing several types of veterinary medicines.

Owned by the Al-Sheikh Group of Industries, the lab had been operating in the area for around 30 years. Most of the workers in the lab were under-age boys and young girls. Rescuers said two houses also collapsed in the incident, but fortunately no one was injured.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2012.