The death toll of the Lyari building collapse rose to six on Monday after rescuers recovered five more bodies from under the debris during an ongoing search and rescue operation to recover the victims. On Sunday, the five-storey building had collapsed the Kalri area, leaving its residents trapped under the debris.
The site of the incident saw rescue and relief efforts pick up pace as the morning sun rose, with many residents still under the rubble and fears of the number of those dead and injured in the incident looming large.
The rescue operation continued for a second day, during which bodies of five more people were pulled out from under the rubble. So far six bodies and six injured have been recovered from under the debris.
“More than 50 per cent of the debris has been removed,” South Zone DIG Sharjeel Kharal told The News. “We didn’t recover any more injured, as the number of the injured remains six, all of whom were recovered on Sunday night. Since then we haven’t recovered any more injured. We found only bodies on the second day, as there are slight chances of recovering any injured and more of finding dead victims.”
All the injured have been discharged from the hospital, added the officer. “We have a total of six dead and six injured,” he confirmed.The occupants of the building had already been asked to vacate it after the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) declared it dangerous and unstable over two months ago.
Around 200 people used to live in the building, but a majority of them had already left it, while some families living on the two floors had not vacated it.Army engineers, Rangers soldiers and police officials used heavy machinery to lift up heavy concrete slabs to recover the people buried under the building’s remains.
SBCA officials said the five-storey building was 25 to 30 years old and in tatters. They said the structure had been erected on a 400-square-yard plot and they had asked the occupants to evacuate prior to the collapse.
They added that the residents had been issued multiple notices to leave the building due to its dilapidated condition, but many refused to pay heed, while the reason for the collapse and a conclusive answer to how many people might be stuck under the debris remained undetermined.
Police said the deceased have been identified as Jamila Daud, 53, Salma Anwar, 40, and Sheraz, 35, from the same family, as well as Noor Muhammad, 60, Fahim Kaleem, 42, and Iqbal Abdus Sattar, 55.
The officials said that parts of a woman’s body were also recovered and they could belong to the same woman who was found from under the debris the previous night. The deceased and the body parts recovered from under the debris were taken to the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.
Rescuers fear of more deaths as they continue to search and recover more people from under the debris. The residents of the area and the families and relatives of the missing people also fear that the death toll can rise.
The army’s engineering core is also present at the site of the building collapse and trying to remove the debris to recover the victims. They are also trying to find the victims with the help of sniffer dogs.
Alternative houses
Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that there were more than 300 buildings in Karachi that were not only old but in a very dilapidated condition, adds our correspondent.
Shah said that notices had also been issued to the occupants of these buildings to vacate them immediately, but they had refused. He added that talks were under way with the occupants of the old buildings, and that they would vacate the old buildings but were relying on the government to provide them with alternative accommodation.
Speaking to the media while visiting the site of the building collapse, he said that legislation was also being enacted to ensure that the occupants of such buildings were provided with alternative accommodation.
The minister said that if there was any negligence on the part of SBCA officials in Lyari’s tragic incident, it would not be tolerated. He clarified that to stop illegal practices, the Sindh government had already approved separate courts for the SBCA, while the apex court had been approached for appointments in these courts.
He said that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the Lyari incident, and if anyone from the SBCA was found to be involved in it, strict legal action would be taken against them.
He also requested the people to heed the SBCA’s warning if they identify an old and dilapidated building and issue a notice to vacate it, saying that the only purpose of these notices is to protect precious lives.
Govt responsibility
Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani called a meeting about dangerous buildings in the city, adds our correspondent. He also visited the site of the incident and monitored the rescue operation. He said the residents of the collapsed building had already been asked to vacate it through notices from the SBCA.
“Despite warnings, they were living there,” he said, adding that currently there are 422 hazardous buildings in the city. “Notices have been served to vacate such buildings,” he pointed out, saying that dangerous building will be vacated at any cost.
Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar said in a statement that it is the responsibility of the Sindh government to ensure the evacuation of dilapidated buildings across the city.
He said the provincial government has a list of all the dilapidated buildings of Karachi, so it should take action and ensure evacuation of all such buildings to save valuable lives. “If action is not taken, dilapidated buildings will keep collapsing and the people will keep dying.”
He feared that such incidents would keep taking place unless the authorities concerned take effective measures to evacuate dilapidated buildings. He said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority should have sent heavy machinery to Lyari for the rescue work, but traditional ways were adopted.
The mayor claimed that Karachi is deliberately being neglected and it seems that there is no one to heal the city’s wounds. He was of the view that many buildings in Saddar, the Burns Road area, Keamari, the Garden locality, Lines Area, Garden East, Jahangirabad and the old city area were declared dangerous but the authorities concerned seemed the least bothered after serving notices to them.
He demanded that the provincial government compensate the families of those who lost their lives in the Lyari building collapse and provide all possible medical facilities and financial aid to the injured.