An old woman was recovered alive from the debris of a destroyed factory after 31 hours on Tuesday.
As per media reports, rescue workers on Tuesday pulled out a 60-year-old woman, Saliha Bibi, alive after she was trapped for 31 hours in the rubble of a collapsed factory in Lahore, as the death toll from the accident rose to 19.
The three-storey medicine factory collapsed Monday after several gas cylinders inside exploded. It had been set up illegally in a residential area and continued operations even though the government tried to shut it down three times, officials said.
Rescue workers on Tuesday heard the 60-year-old woman screaming for help, and it took them several hours to pull her out from the jagged pile of concrete blocks, said Rizwan Naseer, head of rescue service 1122.
The woman appeared exhausted but otherwise unharmed as the workers pulled her free. She drank from a bottle of water and took a deep breath before being led away from the site.
She was the 15th person to be saved and told the rescuers there were others who were still trapped alive, said Naseer.
Around 30 people are still believed to be under the rubble, said another rescue official, Asad Ahmad. Workers have retrieved 19 dead bodies so far, he said.
The woman had wounds on her body and she was very thirsty and hungry, when she was rescued. She has been shifted to Jinnah Hospital for treatment. The rescue work is underway.
