Interim Chief Minister Justice Maqbool Baqar on Thursday suspended four officers, including a director, of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SCBA), a day after five people died in a building collapse in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony.

According to the police, labourers were laying reinforced cement concrete (RCC) roofs on the three-storey building, which was being constructed on a 40-square-yard plot, when the building collapsed.

The Association of Builders and Developers (Abad) described the structure as “illegal” and asked the government to take action against responsible builders and contractors.

Taking notice of the incident today, CM Baqar expressed extreme displeasure and ordered the suspension of SBCA Korangi Director Syed Muhammad Zia, Assistant Director Waseem Raja Thaheem, Senior Building Inspector Tanveer Khan, and Building Inspector Khurram Rizwan.

The minister vowed that such constructions would not be allowed “at any cost” as they posed a risk to the lives of people.

Meanwhile, the SBCA, on orders of the chief minister, has constituted a broad-based inquiry committee to probe the building collapse.

The committee has been directed to conduct the inquiry to examine the status of the approval of the building plan and the period of construction on the plot.

The inquiry committee would also ascertain the role of delinquent officers/officials of the SBCA and the authorities/agencies.

The chief minister has further ordered the committee to submit the report of inquiry within 48 hours.