The death toll in the Moosa Lane building collapse tragedy rose to 12 when five more bodies were recovered from the debris on Friday. The corpses recovered on Friday were that of four men and one girl. The deceased were identified as Roshan, Razia, Jaffer while the identity of the rest of them was still to be established. Rescuers said the narrow streets restricted their movement and added to causalities.
“The narrow streets with most of the buildings encroaching mandatory open spaces hampered the rescue work. We could not move the heavy machinery to the site to remove the rubble as quickly as we could have,” they said. An official requesting anonymity said around 15 to 20 more people or bodies might still be buried under the debris. He said their work could take two to three more days. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday took notice of the incident extended his condolences to the victim families.
He asked the provincial government to probe the tragic incident and ensure provision of immediate relief to the affected people. Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan has also ordered an inquiry into the incident and told Commissioner Karachi to provide immediate relief to the affected people. So far, no case has been registered with the police against the owners of the collapsed building. Karachi South DIG, however, said that the three brothers who owned the building were in police custody. He said the case would be registered once the Building Control Authority submitted its report.
