Two Pakistani workers are still missing while six others are in stable condition, says CEO of the company. PHOTO: AFP
At least 10 Pakistani construction workers and one Indian were killed in the collapse of a convention centre being built in Saudi Arabia, an Asian diplomatic source said on Tuesday. The under construction building, at a university in Qassim northwest of the capital Riyadh, collapsed on Monday.
The bodies of six Pakistanis had been pulled out from the rubble and rescuers were trying to free the bodies of two more, the diplomatic source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that three other people wounded in the collapse had also died, including two more Pakistanis and an Indian.
A spokesman for the Saudi Red Crescent Authority gave a different toll, saying six people had died, after providing an initial count of two dead late on Monday. He did not give the nationalities of the victims.
Sniffer dogs were assisting in the search for up to six other workers believed still trapped under the concrete.
The diplomatic source further said he understood that steel mesh had been laid and foundation columns were in place. “When they started pouring concrete, that was when the load was too much” for the columns, he said.
Pictures from the scene showed a sprawling but low-level construction site, where many steel support rods had collapsed along with other parts of the structure inside a wide circular area. The source also said Egyptians and Bangladeshis also worked on the site.
Help line
Pakistan Embassy officials along with a legal consultant are present at the site to coordinate and supervise arrangements for the treatment of injured citizens and for dispatch of the bodies back to the country.
According to Ahmad Othaim, CEO of Manazel Construction Company, two Pakistani workers are still missing while six others are in stable condition.
The Pakistani envoy is in constant contact with CEO Othaim, who has assured of full cooperation with the mission for the best possible treatment of the injured and expeditious dispatch of the dead bodies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh will continue to monitor the situation. The families of workers employed by Manazel Construction Company can contact the embassy in Riyadh at 00966-571870352 and 00966-571862623.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2015.
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