LAHORE: Four members of a family including infant twins were killed and six others injured when the ‘rickety’ roof of their single-storey abode at Azam Garden on Multan Road caved in amid downpour on Tuesday.

The families of Riaz and his brother Hasnain had gathered at the former’s house and were engaged in routine activities when the roof came crashing down, leaving them under the rubble. Neighbours and some passersby gathered there and started removing the debris and pulled out four people -- infant twins, their mother and grandmother -- who died after some time. Six other people were extricated and Rescue 1122 ambulances shifted them to the Jinnah Hospital, where they were stated to be stable after first aid.

Those who lost their lives were Bilal and his sister Hajra, both one-year-old, their mother Shama, 26, and grandmother Manzooran, 65. The injured were Ahmed, 2, Mariyam, 3, Zainab, 3, Ghulam Fatima, 7, Shabnam, 30, and Hafeezan, 35.

Riaz, the father of the twins, told Dawn that he left the house in the morning for work and came to know about the incident when his elder brother and locals called him. He said his brother and neighbours launched the rescue operation on their own and recovered the dead bodies from the rubble, while the Rescue 1122 teams reached the spot afterward. The rescue teams pulled out his son Bilal, he added.

He said his brother’s family had come to meet them and the children were playing when the roof collapsed owing to heavy rain.

Jamil, a civil defence worker who came for inspection, said the roof collapsed because of poor quality of construction. He observed that the wooden girders were placed just to support the mud roof of the single-storey house and it did not have any support in the middle.

Initial inquiries showed that as the rain poured, the roof started gaining weight and its girders could not bear the burden and caved in. The construction design revealed that the dwellers had made a temporary arrangement, he added.

According to the Met office, rain with isolated heavy falls accompanied by strong gusty winds is expected at scattered places in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Hazara, Malakand, Peshawar, Mardan and Kohat divisions, Fata, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir during the next 24 hours (Wednesday).

This year, monsoon rainfall is likely to be 10 to 20pc above normal all over the country. More than average rainfall is expected in Punjab, KP, Sindh, AJK and Northeast Balochistan.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced a financial assistance of Rs500,000 for the heirs of each deceased. He also directed the administration to provide the best treatment facilities to the injured persons.

Published in Dawn, June 22th, 2016