13 Persons Dead, Many Injured As Building Collapses

Pakistani police say at least 13 people were killed when a five-story residential building collapsed in the southern port city of Karachi.

Only one body was initially recovered when the building collapsed on Monday, senior police officer Altaf Hussain said.

Police said on Tuesday the death toll rose to 13 after rescuers carefully removed the rubble to find more victims trapped underneath.

Most of the apartments were empty as the building was recently ordered vacated as it was declared unsafe in March, after cracks emerged on the walls, Hussain said. Rescuers said the collapse happened when some of the residents went in to retrieve their belongings.

Among the victims were seven men, five women and a girl, Hussain said. He said at least six people were injured in the incident and speculated there may be more trapped beneath the rubble.

Also in Karachi, a multistorey building that was undergoing additional constructions and expansion collapsed in March, killing at least 11 people, including women and children.

Senior Superintendent of Police in District City, Karachi Muqaddas Haider told Xinhua that the death toll rose after the bodies of eight more residents were retrieved from the rubble of the building that collapsed on Sunday night in the densely populated Khadda market area of Karachi, the provincial capital of south Sindh province.

Multiple others including two policemen were injured in the incident and shifted to various hospitals in the city, the police official said.

A contingent of civil engineers from the Pakistan army was also dispatched to the area to inspect the building. Sniffer dogs are being used to try to locate those trapped under the debris.

According to local media, the building was declared “dangerous and unstable” by the Sindh Building Control Authority more than two months ago and had more than 40 apartments.

While most of the families have already vacated the building, some were still inside the building when it collapsed.