KARACHI: Six minor girls, including five sisters, were killed and four others injured when the roof of their house collapsed during construction in the Afghan Camp area along Superhighway, police said on Sunday.

The Gulshan-i-Maymar police said that the incident took place on Saturday night in Janjal Goth where most houses were made of mud and clay instead of concrete.

Area SHO Agha Asadullah said it was a single-storey mud house whose roof was made of tiles. He said that the house owner was carrying out some repair work and it appeared that the roof could not withstand the weight of construction material and collapsed.

He said that 10 persons were trapped in the rubble and local residents started rescue efforts and managed to retrieve four bodies and six injured persons. He said that two girls breathed their last at the hospital.

A neighbour, who identified himself as Matiullah, told Dawn that when he was leaving for work at Iftar he saw heavy construction material being taken to the roof.

Police say roof was under repair and could not sustain the weight of construction materials

“I warned the family of dangers, but the construction workers laughed at me. I got information about the incident and rushed back to join rescue work, which was initiated by the residents themselves,” he said.

Rescue-1122 official Hassaan Khan told Dawn that they received information about the incident at 11pm. He said by the time their team reached the scene the bodies and injured were already moved to hospitals.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said victim girls, aged between seven and 20, were brought at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. “All were dead on arrival.”

She said that their relatives did not allow doctors to carry out their post-mortem examination.

The deceased girls were identified as Nasrin Mikail and five sisters — Sadia Raza Ali, Ayesha, Kainat, Ishal and Sanodia.

The injured were identified as Nasrin’s father Mikail, 40, Nasira, 37, Noman, 3, and Asif, 7. The police said the condition of Mikail was critical.

SHO Asadullah said that although the incident occurred in Afghan Camp, the victims were not Afghan refugees. He said that the victims originally hailed from Bannu.

He said that it was an accident and no legal proceedings were initiated.

A spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation said that all the bodies were moved to the Edhi morgue. However, their relatives did not collect the bodies for burial till late in the night.

The spokesperson said the burial would take place on Monday (today) as the family was waiting for their relatives to arrive from their hometown in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has expressed his grief over the death of six persons in the roof collapse.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2025