DERA GHAZI KHAN: Five children, two brothers among them, were buried alive while eight others were injured when the roofs of a double-storey building of a seminary on Dera-Multan Road caved in during construction.

According to eyewitness account, labourers were engaged in construction when the roof of the seminary’s upper storey collapsed triggering a chain reaction leading to fall of the roof of the ground floor where children were taking the Quranic lessons.

Thirteen children were trapped under the rubble and a team of Rescue 1122 came there and launched an operation. The rescuers managed to bring out eight injured children including Habib, Akhtar, Irfan, Rasheed, Nadir, Yousaf Ansar and Yousaf Ahmed and shifted them to the DHQ hospital. An instructor also was injured.

Muhammad Irfan, Ejaz, Hamza and brothers Shafique and Naveed perished under the rubble.

Commissioner Muhammad Yasrab, DCO Nadeemur Rehman and DPO Atta supervised the rescue operation.

The DCO told Dawn that a report had been sent to the chief minister for compensation grant for the ill-fated families.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2016