— Rescue officials face difficulty due to narrow streets
— Pak Army, Rangers taking part in recovery operation
KARACHI: Three people have died while many more are trapped as a residential building collapsed at 7 am in the Jafar-e-Tayyar neighbourhood of Malir on Monday morning.
Five injured people including a woman and a child were pulled out of the rubble under the building that was built 30 years ago and housed several families and a total of 20 people.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of the incident and directed city commissioner to prove the incident. Conveying his deep grief and concern with regard to the incident, he said foolproof measures must be adopted for a safe recovery of those trapped in the rubble.
Expressing his relief that four of the affected people have been rescued, he prayed that there may not be any further loss of life. Shah said all assistance will be provided to the concerned families. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail also took notice of the incident.
The body of the building owner has been recovered but more than 17 people remain trapped in the building, Sindh Labour Minister Ghulam Murtaza Baloch told a private media outlet.
Baloch added that rescue officials were facing difficulty in gaining access to the building because of the crowd gathered at the site. Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani said that rescue officials were unable to bring heavy machinery to rescue people because the streets nearby were narrow.
He blamed law enforcement agencies for the unexpected hurdles, as the government had created laws for safety.
Sindh governor has accused the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government of negligence and the poor condition of law enforcement and institutions that undertake rescue operations.
“Such incidents can only be avoided if institutions work properly. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) isn’t seen at the site [of such incidents] for hours. There should be some accountability,” he asserted.
However, a KMC official said that other adjacent buildings were not affected due to the collapse. “However, a proper assessment of the impact will have to be properly carried out, after we are done with our rescue work,” he said.
A contingent of the Pakistan Army, rescuers, policemen, and Rangers personnel are taking part in the operation. Heavy machinery has also been brought at the spot to remove the rubble.
SINDH GOVERNOR DECLARES SBCA RESPONSIBLE FOR MALIR INCIDENT
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Monday afternoon declared that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) was responsible for a building collapse in Malir area of Karachi.
While talking to the media, Governor Ismail expressed condolence with the relatives of persons who died in a building collapse in Malir’s Jafar Tayyar neighbourhood on Monday morning.
He directed the Karachi commissioner to steadily conduct rescue activities and using all resources to bring persons out of the debris.gm
Ismail said that Malir-like incidents exposed the SCBA’s and Malir Development Authority’s (MDA) poor performance as the departments were only authorised to allow constructions of such buildings.
The Malir SSP informed that three families were residing in the building.