At least 17 dead, dozens still trapped after Lahore factory collapse

Rescue efforts underway to recover dozens of labourers still trapped under debris

LAHORE: A four-storeyed factory producing plastic bags collapsed on Wednesday evening, killing at least 17 labourers and trapping dozens of workers under the rubble at the Sundar Industrial Estate near Lahore.

Rescue efforts were underway on Thursday to recover dozens of labourers still trapped under debris of the collapsed factory, which also claimed the life of the owner.

No part of the four-storey building remained standing after the disaster, and hundreds of rescue workers were carefully picking through piles of concrete and bricks to find survivors.

Geo News reported that the bodies of 17 workers have been recovered while 76 injured have been rescued from the rubble. Rescue services have expressed concern that as many as 100 people could be trapped under the rubble.

Having 702 industrial land plots spread over 1,179 acres, the Sundar Industrial Estate actually comprises of 1,750 acres of land located 45 kilometres from the centre of Lahore on the Sundar-Raiwind Road.

Also read: History and features of Lahore’s Sundar Industrial Estate

It was not clear what caused the collapse, though construction work had been going on there.

The factory may have suffered structural damage in the October 26 quake, which killed almost 400 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan, Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif said.

"I have heard about the earthquake affecting the building, but according to labourers the owner continued to build an extension," he told reporters.

Heavy machinery from a nearby Bahria Town construction operation was at the site of the incident to help with the rescue and relief operations. Medicines and water bottles were being passed to those trapped under the rubble.

According to reports, the four-storey building had many workers sleeping on the third floor when the building collapsed.

Also read: Timeline of recent building collapse incidents in Lahore

The army said it was deploying specialist search teams and engineers to help the rescue effort.

Army teams were busy on the scene to lead the rescue operation at the site about 45 kilometers away from the main city.

Labourers working in the area told Geo News that the factory had also employed several children, who also resided at the factory building. Several children were also trapped under the rubble, they said.

Due to the large number of people gathered at the site rescue efforts were facing hurdles and army personnel have appealed to those standing by to clear the area to allow rescue efforts to move forward.

Sources told Geo News that the factory had been declared dangerous and while the owner had asked the workers to vacate the area they had sought some time to relocate.

It has also been reported by a Geo News reporter on site that the owner had arrived at the factory to ask the workers to leave when the incident happened and that he was killed in the incident while one of his sons was trapped under the rubble.



The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing of the Pakistan Army said that engineers as well as urban search and rescue teams were taking part in the rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Lahore. Additionally Special Forces were also been dispatched from Rawalpindi by air for Lahore.

Following the incident, civilian rescue services reached the site of the incident with some delay, due to the site of the incident being far from the main city.

Pakistan's construction sector suffers from poor oversight and developers frequently flout building codes.

At least 24 people died last year when a mosque collapsed in the same city, while more than 200 people lost their lives, mostly due to collapsed roofs, following torrential rain and flooding in 2014. In September 2012, 289 people burned to death in a fire at a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi. On the same day, a fire at a shoe factory in Lahore killed 25.