Two injured as factory partially collapses in Sher Shah

Two people were injured after a portion of a factory’s two-storey building collapsed near Siemens Chowrangi in the Sindh Industrial & Trading Estate (SITE) in Sher Shah on Monday.

Following the incident, rescuers and law enforcers attended the scene and heavy machinery was used to remove the debris. Initially, people were feared trapped underneath the rubble after which firefighters and rescuers started a search and rescue operation in the 4,000-square-yard factory. However, no one was found trapped and only two workers sustained minor injuries.

The factory administration said most of the workers were not present there as the incident occurred during the lunch and prayer time. Police said warehouses were on the ground floor and residential rooms on the second storey that was mostly occupied by labourers. Polythene bags, coolers and garments were being manufactured in it, police said, adding that a case would be registered.

On the other hand, the relevant departments, including the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), declared the building dangerous, stating that the building was in a dilapidated condition as it was around 40 years old and the remaining portion of the ramshackle structure may also cave in anytime soon.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and directed Karachi Commissioner Suhail Rajput to put the administration on alert. “Efforts should be made to save the lives of the labourers,” he instructed.

Earlier this month, at least two people were killed and 10 others were injured after a two-storey building collapsed in Bihar Colony in Karachi's Lyari area. Earlier this month, two people had lost their lives and many were injured when a double-storey residential building collapsed in Lyari’s Koyla Godam in Gulistan Colony on Sunday morning.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah also took notice of the incident and sought report. The Sindh Building Control Authority in its statement said an excavator was being used for construction near the collapsed building which had hit it.

The SBCA’s dangerous buildings director, Beenish Shabbir, had told The News that after the excavator hit the building’s wall, it collapsed. “It wasn’t an RCC building, but a very rickety structure over a 600 square yard plot in katchi abadi,” he said adding that a portion of the building collapsed, while the other half was also demolished as it lost its strength.