At least 15 people were trapped under the debris when the roof of a two-story building in Anarkali Bazar in Lahore collapsed Friday evening.
The building is right opposite to Al Karim Centre, which caught fire earlier this year, and is at least 50 to 60 years old.
A few labourers were working to demolish the building when its roof collapsed, Lahore DCO Muhammad Usman said. “The roof was being brought down manually,” he said, adding that the incident will be investigated.
Ghulam Rasool, a shopkeeper in the area and one of the eyewitnesses, said that a dispute was going on between building’s owner and the tenant, adding that the building was not fit to carry out business activities, as it was in a dilapidated condition.
Seven people were rescued from the debris and shifted to MayoHospital while rescue operation was underway till the filing of this report. However, rescue officials, including Edhi and Rescue 1122 faced difficulties to reach the area.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also took notice of the incident and asked the authorities to speed up the rescue operation.
