From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: At least 11 people died on Friday after a five-storey residential building collapsed in the Baghdadi area of Lyari, leaving several others injured.
According to rescue sources, 10 others were pulled out alive — one of them in critical condition.
Rescue teams, police, and Rangers reached the scene shortly after the incident and launched relief operations. Rescuers have been using heavy machinery to remove the debris.
Local residents are also actively assisting in rescue 25-30 people trapped under the rubble.
Rescue officials reported that 10 injured individuals — including three women — have been shifted to the Trauma Centre at Civil Hospital. Hospital authorities have confirmed that one of the injured women is in critical condition.
An Edhi Foundation spokesperson stated that two bodies and five injured people were recovered from the debris. Emergency has been declared at both the Jinnah Hospital and the Civil Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that several families were living in the building, which was in a dilapidated condition.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab visited the site of the collapsed building in Lyari’s Baghdadi area and said that the rescue operation is underway. He stated that Rescue 1122, KPT, and district administration teams are actively participating in the operation.
Wahab mentioned that the rescue operation will take some more time to complete. So far, seven people have been reported dead in the tragic incident, and teams are working to recover those trapped under the rubble.
The mayor vowed that those responsible for this tragic incident will not be spared. He revealed that the SBCA had issued four notices to vacate the affected building, but the residents considered it their personal property and refused to leave.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on X, “Relief and rescue work is ongoing,”
Meanwhile, Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani has taken notice of the incident and directed that all trapped individuals be rescued as quickly as possible.
Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.
But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.
