At least 14 dead in Karachi building collapse

Ag APP

KARACHI: At least 14 people died and dozens were injured when a five-storey residential building in Karachi collapsed on Thursday, severely damaging several other buildings, Geo News reported quoting officials.

According to the police, the building’s collapse damaged two smaller buildings, portions of which were completely razed to the ground. A fourth building near the three destroyed structures was also declared unsafe. The five-storey building, which was in a densely-populated locality of the metropolis, was said to have already been in a state of disrepair and was in dire need of restoration.

Nearby hospitals had declared an emergency, while some 30 wounded had been brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in injured condition, media reports said. The Pakistan Army was aiding rescue efforts had recovered four people — a woman and three boys — from the rubble, State media reported.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah sought a report related to the building’s construction and rescue efforts, and ordered the deputy commissioner to visit the area and assess the situation, a spokesman said.

According to Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Additional Director Ashkar Daud, the building was built illegally and officers who were involved in approving its construction were suspended. He said a case will be registered against those involved, adding the provincial government had suspended 28 SBCA officers following similar incidents in the past.