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MURREE, Aug 31: At least four people were killed when an eight-storey summer resort collapsed here in early hours of Thursday. The bodies were retrieved and initial reports said some other people were trapped under the rubble of the building on Hall Road near Kashmir Point.
Three of those killed were identified as Aurangzeb Abbasi, owner of the building; his son Nadeem and his wife. One body was not identified.
A daughter of Mr Abbasi was pulled out alive by rescuers, including armymen.
Talking to reporters, Rawalpindi district nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas said a technical inquiry committee would be formed to identify dangerous and illegally made buildings in Murree to avoid such tragedies in future.
Several high-rise buildings have been constructed in the town in violation of bylaws according to which ground plus two-storey buildings can be constructed in Murree.
Ghulam Murtaza Satti, MNA from the area, said the matter would be raised in the National Assembly.
APP adds: Local police chief Sajid Kiyani said they had spotted and were trying to recover the body of their (Mr Abbasi’s) security guard from the rubble.
Some 100 soldiers and engineers with a crane had joined police and local administration officials in the rescue operation, he said.
Mr Kiyani said a total of five people were in the building when it collapsed, adding earlier estimates of 12-14 people trapped were incorrect.
