At least 8 dead after building collapses in Karachi’s Lyari area

A five-storey building collapse in Pakistan on Friday killed at least eight people and left many injured, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for trapped victims.

Police and rescue teams were sent to the site of the incident as several people were reported to be trapped under the rubble.

Three people killed in building collapse

The building was situated in Lyari’s Baghdadi neighbourhood.

According to Rescue 1122, it has deployed 5 disaster response vehicles, 2 snorkels, and several ambulances at the location.

All Rescue 1122 personnel have been called to the location, with over 100 team members actively engaged to provide full-scale assistance for any emergency situation, a statement read.

The incident happened shortly after 10am (0500 GMT.

Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said there were around 20 families living inside.

“I got a call from my wife saying the building was cracking and I told her to get out immediately,” he told AFP at the scene.

“She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her ‘this building will stand for at least 10 more years’. Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed.”

Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be “at least eight to 10 more people still trapped”, describing it as a “worn out building”.

He had put the death toll at six at the time of reporting.

Nearby residents rushed to save their neighbours before rescuers took over to remove the rubble, along with at least five excavators.

The heavy machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way.

In June 2020, at least 18 people were killed when a residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed in the same area of the city.

Today’s incident comes days after a portion of a building collapsed in the city’s Kharadar area. However, no casualties or injuries were reported.