At least five people were killed while four labourers were injured on Wednesday when an under-construction building near Qadri Masjid in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony No.5 collapsed, rescue officials said.

According to the police, four victims were labourers while the fifth one was a passerby vendor.

Shah Faisal Colony Police Station House Officer (SHO) Saqib Khan said that labourers were in the process of laying a reinforced cement concrete roof when it collapsed.

He said construction of two floors was under way at a 40-yard plot in the area which was in bad shape. “As per initial reports, the old roof of the slab could not withstand the weight of two more roofs and it fell down,” Khan told Dawn.com.

With the help of machinery, the debris was removed and the bodies were recovered, he added.

The official added that a criminal case would be registered against the owner on charges of causing loss of human life and injuries.

Earlier, a statement released by Edhi rescue service stated that one body and an injured person had been shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Last month, a man was killed while two others were injured after an under-construction building ‘Regra Heights’ collapsed in Faisalabad’s People’s Colony area.