TAXILA: Rescue teams pulled out eight bodies and four injured children from the rubble of a two-storey house which collapsed in the Munirabad area in Wah Cantonment on Monday.

The rescue operation, carried out with the help of an army team, lasted over five hours and was completed at 4am on Tuesday night.

Most of those killed were children and belonged to the same family. The house was rented out to Said Wazir and Tariq Mehmood, who lived in two separate portions of the building with their families.

Those who were killed include Said Wazir, his wife and five children and Tariq Mehmood’s mother.

Assistant Commissioner Taxila Shahid Imran told newsmen that the building had encroached upon a drainage line which became overflowed in the heavy rain on Monday. He said the house, located in a narrow alley was unapproachable for heavy machinery and handheld drillers and hydraulic cutters had to be used to get through the mangled mess of concrete and steel.

According to official sources, the house was owned by Mohammad Rafiq, a resident of Hazro in Attock district. He had constructed the house eight years ago.

Neighbouring houses were also damaged in the accident.

A neighbour, Mudassir Ali, said two rooms of his house had collapsed in the accident. He said earlier rains had damaged Mohammad Rafiq’s house and cracks had appeared in the walls.

“People of the neighbourhood had advised the tenants to vacate the house as it had become dangerous,” he said.

Another neighbour, Nighat Parveen, said the rubble from the collapsed house had damaged five neighbouring houses. She said, since the incident, people on both sides of the drainage line are living in fear as more rains are expected.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2015

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