At least 1 dead, 10 injured as residential building collapses in Karachi's Korangi
At least one person died after a multi-storeyed residential building collapsed in Karachi's Korangi area, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Director Dr Seemin Jamali said. The victim was 15 years old, she added.
As many as 10 people have been reportedly injured.
The five-storey building was located near Rasheedia Masjid in Allah Wala Town, Korangi, SP Shahnawaz Chachar said.
Speaking of relief and rescue efforts, the SP said that he had reached the spot immediately after the incident occurred along with four cranes, which removed the debris and rescued around seven to eight persons.
Rangers and rescue services also arrived soon after, besides the Pakistan Army’s engineering corps, which took part in the rescue operation.
Three people, including one woman and two children, are still buried under the rubble and an operation to rescue them is underway, according to a statement by Korangi police station.
Residents said that the building's basement had filled with water after the recent heavy rains, which may have weakened its structure.
SP Chachar further said that the building was constructed by a private contractor four years ago. He said that the cause behind the building's collapse will be determined after an inquiry.
Around 40 to 50 people had been living in the building, he said, adding that most of the residents had vacated the building two days ago. At the time of the collapse, two families were still residing in the building.
Meanwhile, Sindh Building Control Authority (SCBA) Korangi Director Asif Rizvi said the building was constructed illegally.
"The building was constructed on China-cutting land," he said, adding that it had no map or approval.
This is the third such incident to have taken place in the metropolis this year. In June, a five-storey building collapsed in Karachi resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people.
In March, a building collapsed in the Gulbahar area, killing 27 people and injuring at least 17 others.
A month after the residential building collapsed in Lyari, the civic administration asked the provincial authorities to delist more than 50 ‘dangerous’ buildings from the list of structures listed under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act as protected heritage so that these could be demolished for public safety.
Additional reporting by Qazi Hassan.
