Search goes on as deaths from Karachi building collapse rise to 23

As many as 23 people have so far been killed in an incident of building collapse in Lee Market located in Lyari area of Karachi as rescue workers pulled more bodies from the rubble overnight while the recovery operation continued for a second day on Saturday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The residential block crumbled shortly after 10:00 am on Friday in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.

According to Dr Samia, a surgeon, 13 injured persons had also landed at the Benazir Trauma Centre. 

“As many as 16 bodies were brought to the trauma centre while one person died during treatment,” she said.   

Earlier, Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi, DC South Javed Nabeel, SSP City Arif Aziz Shikoh and other officials visited the site of the building collapse and announced strict action against those whose negligence led to the incident.  

Speaking to the media, the commissioner said that the rescue operation, which continued throughout the night, would be completed within 24 hours.

He said that human lives could be saved if the people living in dilapidated buildings cooperated with the authorities. 

DC South said that other buildings, which were on the verge of collapse, would also be inspected.  

The SSP City said there were some among the residents who did not participate in the rescue operation, due to which the operation was delayed. 

In a candid and emotionally charged press conference, Sindh Minister for Local Governments Saeed Ghani on Friday accepted responsibility for the tragic building collapse in Lyari.

Ghani confirmed that the collapsed building had long been marked as dangerous, with evacuation notices issued as early as February 28, and a survey in June 2023 declaring it unfit for residence.

A recent attempt to vacate the building on June 2 was met with resistance from occupants, despite ongoing efforts by the authorities. “Had people cooperated, these seven lives could have been saved,” Ghani stated solemnly.

The minister disclosed that 588 buildings across Karachi are currently classified as dangerous, with 456 of them located in the South district, and 107 in Lyari alone.

Fourteen buildings in Lyari were recently evacuated, but many others remain occupied. “We cannot pull people out by force, but if it comes to saving lives, we will do so,” he declared.

Saeed Ghani also pulled no punches when it came to assigning blame. He admitted the involvement of officials within the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) in illegal construction practices. “I say it clearly—SBCA officers are involved. There is negligence. Illegal buildings are being erected, and our people are part of the problem.”

He pointed to a systemic rot in Karachi’s construction industry, where six-storey buildings are illegally built on 100-yard plots, particularly in Lyari, with impunity. He also slammed K-Electric for providing power connections to illegal structures despite repeated warnings and written objections from the government. “Despite our letters, they continue to provide electricity to these buildings,” Ghani said.

Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, leading the government's 1122 rescue service at the scene, told AFP the operation continued through the night "without interruption".

"It may take eight to 12 hours more to complete," he said.

Police official Summiaya Syed, at a Karachi hospital where the bodies were received, told AFP that the death toll on Saturday morning stood at 15, half of them women.

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

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 on Friday afternoon.

Another resident, Maya Sham Jee, said her brother's family was also trapped under the rubble. "It's a tragedy for us. The world has been changed for our family," she told AFP.

"We are helpless and just looking at the rescue workers to bring our loved ones back safely."

Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said around 20 families were living inside. He described how his wife called him in a panic that the building was cracking.

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'," he said.

"Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed."

Reporters: Ibrahim Rind and Mubashar Hussain