The death toll from the building that collapsed on Monday morning rose to 22 on Wednesday.
One of them, a 25-year-old man, was pulled out alive from the debris. He died at the hospital.
Rescuers, who worked through the night, found a woman’s body early Wednesday morning. She was identified as Sakina Bibi, 60.
Three hours after the body was discovered, rescuers’ spirits were lifted when they pulled out Ghulam Abbas. He had a fractured leg and hand and two open wounds but was alive.
“The workers started shouting Allah-ho-Akbar when they pulled him out,” said Malik Shakil, the Rescue Control Room in charge. Shakil said that the rescue workers had dug a five-foot deep hole to get to Abbas.
The operation took them seven hours. Everyone was tired, said Shakil, but the rescue “re-energised” the workers.
Ghulam Abbas was later shifted to Jinnah Hospital for treatment, where he died around 10pm. Javed Akram, the Jinaah Hospital chief executive officer, said that the cause of death was an infection that had spread through Abbas’ body.
An Edhi official said that they were hoping that the rescue operation will end today (Thursday). However, neither the police nor Rescue 1122 was sure how many people are still under the debris.
In the evening Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the site. DCO Ahad Cheema, Rescue1122 director general Rizwan Naseer and other officials accompanied Sharif. The chief minister assured the people present that those responsible will be punished.
(Read: Cylinder tragedy in Lahore)
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2012.
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