KARACHI, Sept 5: One labourer was killed and three others injured when the fifth floor of an under-construction building in Delhi Colony, Clifton, caved in on Wednesday and caused considerable damage to the third and fourth floors.

The deceased was identified as Alam Khan, 26, and the injured as Daulat Khan, 28, Saeed Khan, 22, and Niaz, 36. All the victims were engaged in the construction work inside the building when the upper floor collapsed, police said.

Soon after the incident, people of the locality rushed to the scene and started rescue work. Ambulances and fire-brigade workers also arrived along with the law-enforcement personal. According to sources, people of the locality, along with the rescue agencies, played a crucial role in recovering the victims from inside the building. The body and the injured were shifted to the Jinnah Hospital. The rescuers faced great hardship in carrying out the rescue work and transporting the victims to the hospital due to the narrow streets of the locality, according to an Edhi Foundation volunteer.

SP Clifton, Azad Khan told Dawn that the owner of the building, Mohammad Ahmed, was arrested in the night and an FIR against him was registered under section 319 PPC.

“I have also received a report from the Clifton Cantonment Board, which states that the building was an illegal structure,” the SP said, adding that the CCB officials had noted that substandard material being used in the construction could be the main reason for the collapse of the building.

The CCB officials have since started demolition of the structure.