12 die as building collapses in Orangi Town

12 people including nine women and three children died and three others got injured when a multi storied building in Orangi Town collapsed on Wednesday. The rescue teams have recovered bodies of six women and one boy from the debris of the building while bodies of 5 others including three women and two children could not be recovered till the filing of this story.
"It was a ground plus three-storied residential-cum-commercial building that collapsed at around 11:45am, said the Chief Fire Officer, City District Government Karachi Muhammad Imtiaz and added the rescue teams arrived at the spot after half an hour. He said it would be premature to confirm more casualties before the completion of the rescue operation. The neighbours told Business Recorder that three families including a family of the owner and more than 20 people were residing in the building. Two commercial shops were also situated in the building, which were opened at the time of the collapse, they said.
Anwar Khan, owner of a chicken shop situated in the building said that at around 11:30 am a passer-by informed him regarding the abnormal tilt of the building's structure. On knowing this, Anwar rang the bells of residents' doors and asked them to vacate the building, but as they (residents) rushed to the stairs, the building collapsed, he said.
Apprising about a possible reason of the collapse, Anwar said that a sewerage nullah, which is running alongside the building, could be a reason. In the monsoon season, the nullah starts overflowing and despite the building owner's efforts to counter the problem, the fatal incident took place, he added.
A large number of area residents gathered around the debris and started rescue works. They recovered five bodies and three injured even before the start of the rescue operation. A heavy contingent of police and Pakistan Rangers reached the spot and then took charge of the situation.
Station House Officer Peerabad Police Station said police could not start investigations into the collapse as the rescue operation was going on. He confirmed that bodies of seven people were recovered while dead bodies of five others were still trapped in the wreckage. All the dead bodies and injured persons were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The dead bodies were identified as Nasira, Nasreen, Sawira, Sadaf and Azra while identification of four women could not be ascertained. Bodies of two children and a woman were yet to be recovered.