Karachi, July 4: A multi-storey residential building collapsed in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounding eight others, media reports said.
Efforts to rescue trapped individuals were underway at the building situated on Fida Hussain Shaikha Road in Lyari’s Baghdadi area in the city, Dawn newspaper reported, citing a statement from the police.
“A five-storey building in Baghdadi, Lyari has collapsed. Relief and rescue work is ongoing,” Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui posted on X.
Siddiqui later told the media at the incident site that seven bodies had been recovered.
The five-storey building – constructed in 1974 – was on the list of depilated buildings in the old areas of Karachi. Lyari is one of Karachi’s most congested, low-lying and low-income areas.
More people are feared to be trapped under the debris, officials said, adding that an operation is underway to rescue them.
Quoting rescue workers, Geo News reported that authorities estimated that up to 25 people may still be trapped under the rubble.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed authorities to speed up rescue efforts. He instructed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to submit a report and identify all dangerous structures in the city.
“This is an unfortunate incident. Negligence will not be tolerated,” Shah said in a statement.
The incident comes just days after a partial building collapse in Karachi’s Khardar area, which caused no casualties.
The provincial government has declared some 570 buildings in old Karachi as dangerous and asked residents to evacuate them. (PTI)
