Karachi buildings collapse: Death toll rises to 27, as 51 others wounded

KARACHI: The death toll from a building collapse in Karachi’s Golimar area rose to 27 after five more bodies were recovered from the rubble, rescue officials said Sunday, adding that it was unlikely that any more people were still under the rubble.

Almost 95% of the debris has been removed, the officials mentioned, noting that all people have been recovered. In total, "27 people died and 51 were wounded" when the building collapsed. "We used the latest machinery to prioritise retrieving people," they added.

Rescue officers explained that the building had collapsed due to weak base and over-construction and that the building that fell first impacted three others near it.

Earlier on Saturday, three bodies — including that of 24-year-old Tariq Ali, Nayab Ali, and a third who could not be identified at the time — were recovered on the third day of the rescue operation in the affected area.

The rescue operation had continued for a fourth consecutive day on Sunday, with authorities barring families of the missing from going near the building as they continued to look for their loved ones.

Second incident in less than 30 days

On Thursday, Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah had assured that strict action would be taken against illegal buildings, saying Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had taken notice of the event and sought a report of the incident from Commissioner Karachi, as well as other relevant officers of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA).

The provincial minister had added the Sindh government was monitoring the treatment of the injured and was ensuring that the injured were receiving the best treatment possible.

This was the second such incident in the port city in less than 30 days, bringing into question the role of the SBCA, which seems to have failed in controlling the mushrooming growth of hazardous and illegally-built structures in the metropolis.

Earlier, in February, a ground-plus-five storey residential building constructed on an 80-square-yard plot in Lyari’s Usmanabad had developed cracks before tilting dangerously.

Case registered

An FIR had been registered at the Rizvia Police Station regarding the incident. According to the FIR, the police received information about the incident at 12:25pm on Thursday. Clauses related to negligence and damage to people's life and property have been added to the FIR.

Read also: Death toll from Karachi buildings collapse rises to 18

How it happened

On Thursday morning, a five-storey residential building, 400 Quarter, located in Golimar Number 2, had caved.

The building, according to SBCA’s director Katchi Abadi, Muhammad Raqeeb, was constructed in a well-planned area, which cannot be considered a Katchi Abadi.

The first building which collapsed, according to the SBCA, was built some 25 years ago. A homoeopathic clinic had been functional on the ground floor of the building.

The building first tilted and damaged a three-floor residential building constructed adjacent to it, which then damaged another neighbouring two-floor residential building.

An additional sixth floor was being constructed over the first building when it collapsed, SBCA's Additional Director, Ashkar Dawar, told The News.

He had added that one of the major reasons for the building's collapse seemed to be the inadequate drainage of sewage water in the vicinity.

The first building to collapse, Dawar said, had been constructed illegally on an 80-yard plot.

Talking to the media, he said that such buildings continue to be constructed throughout the city.

Also read: Death toll from Karachi buildings collapse rises to 18

“We demolish two buildings, and 10 more are erected behind our backs,” he said, adding that the menace of illegal buildings is spreading in the city rapidly.

The SBCA's inspectors are responsible for monitoring such constructions across the city.

“They must inspect and report to the building authority,” he said, adding that he has already fired the deputy and assistant directors of the SBCA of Liaquatabad Town, where the incident occurred.

Just two days before the incident, on Tuesday, the Sindh government had suspended 28 employees of the SBCA over corruption charges.

The development was confirmed in a press release from Sindh Local Government Secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh, according to which the SBCA officials had unlawfully authorised illegal constructions.