Roof collapse kills 14 people in Buner

Published November 23, 2010

MINGORA: Fourteen people died in northwestern Pakistan’s Buner district when a concrete roof they were sitting on collapsed into a 15 feet deep sewer, police said.

Local police official Azizur Rehman said the accident occurred Tuesday at a home in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where dozens of people had gathered for a funeral.

Rehman said all of the people who died were women, but other officials said it was a mix of women and children. He said 34 people were injured in the accident in Jhor village.

Many people in northwestern Pakistan lack a proper plumbing system and often divert human waste into a large hole that is located next to their home. They often cover the hole with a concrete roof.