Several people killed in multistorey building collapse in Pakistan | Construction News

Rescuers were searching for trapped survivors after the incident in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi.

A five-storey building has collapsed in Pakistan, killing at least eight people and injuring nine others, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for more trapped victims.

The incident occurred on Friday, shortly after 10am (05:00 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence.

Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told the AFP news agency.

Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said he got a call from his wife saying “the building was cracking” and he told her to “get out immediately”.

“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,” he told AFP.

Residents also said the building was located on a narrow street, making it difficult for rescue teams to bring in additional heavy equipment.

Television footage showed rescuers removing the rubble and evacuating nearby buildings as a precaution.

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”.

All six members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari’s family were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning.

“Nothing is left for me now. My family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery,” he told AFP.

Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety regulations are frequently ignored to cut costs.

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.

In June 2020, an apartment building collapsed in Karachi, killing 22 people.