Doctor, retired cop killed as wall at Bhains Colony plot collapses

A doctor and a retired police officer were killed and three others were injured after a wall at an under-construction plot adjacent to a hospital in Bhains Colony collapsed on Monday.

The deceased were identified as City General Hospital owner Dr Rasool Bakhsh Abro, and Hasan Medical Centre owner Khadim Hussain Lashari, who was also a retired sub-inspector. The wall at the plot in the jurisdiction of the Shah Latif Town police station collapsed and trapped several people, including a female passer-by. A large number of locals gathered to begin rescue efforts on their own.

Malir SP Saeed Rand said Dr Abro lived in Steel Town and Lashari resided near the accident site, adding that both men were close friends and had jointly purchased the 600-yard plot where construction was under way to expand the doctor’s hospital.

The officer said labourers were excavating with the help of a shovel while Dr Abro and Lashari stood nearby engaged in a conversation. As soil was being added along the under-construction wall, it suddenly collapsed due to the weight, trapping a woman passing by, he added.

The two friends rushed to rescue her but a larger portion of the wall fell on top of them, leading to their immediate deaths, while multiple individuals, including the woman, were injured and taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

A Rescue 1122 official said their control room received information about the wall collapse at around 1:30pm, adding that they were at the scene within 20 to 25 minutes. He said that after the deceased and the injured were transferred to the hospital, they initiated a search operation.

An area resident named Nadir mentioned that the plot was being developed for the hospital. A labourer working on the site confirmed that Dr Abro and Lashari were killed while trying to save a woman trapped under the wall’s debris.