At least 10 killed, 6 injured as three-storey building collapses in Lahore’s Harbanspura

LAHORE: At least 10 people were killed and six injured after a three-story building collapsed in Lahore’s Harbanspura area late on Wednesday, according to authorities. Spokesperson for the Lahore deputy commissioner Harris Ali confirmed to Dawn that the death toll of the incident had risen from eight to 10 while the rescue operation to recover those still trapped under the rubble was under way on Thursday afternoon. “Rescue teams are currently searching for two additional victims believed to be trapped under the rubble, ” he told Dawn. The spokesperson said three brothers and their families were residing in the building, and they were joined by their sister and her children for a birthday celebration when the structure collapsed. “The building collapsed floor by floor from the top down, ” he said. Earlier, a statement issued by Lahore DC retired Capt Muhammad Ali Ijaz’s office said he was supervising the rescue operation at the site of the incident. The statement added that Rescue 1122 teams, assisted by district administration officials, were clearing the debris and efforts were under way to recover people who were still trapped under the rubble. Heavy machinery had also been deployed to speed up the operation, it said. According to the statement, the DC directed the relevant officials at the site to ensure the safe recovery of all those trapped under the debris. It said that the DC had also ordered an inquiry to determine the cause of the roof collapse. The incident comes a month after a roof collapse at a tuition centre in Lahore’s Kahna area claimed the lives of 14 children. Police had registered a case against the tuition centre’s owners and the building’s contractor a day after the incident, with the first information report stating that the suspects were putting soil on the dilapidated building’s roof, which collapsed because of the extra load. In a similar incident in early May, four children were killed and 20 people injured after the roof of a classroom at a private school in Dera Ghazi Khan collapsed. A probe into the incident revealed that construction for an extension of the building was under way when the roof of the classroom collapsed. According to the district administration’s incident report, the roof was overloaded as sand and bricks were placed on it, and it could not bear the load and consequently collapsed.

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