https://arab.news/mywbt
- Friday’s incident was the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi
- It laid bare the issue of unsafe housing in the city, home to over 20 million people
KARACHI: The death toll from a five-storey building collapse in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi rose to 15 on Saturday, officials said, after rescuers pulled more bodies from the rubble overnight.
The Fotan Mansion residential building, where several families were said to be living, crumbled shortly around 10am on Friday in the impoverished Lyari neighborhood of the city.
Rescue workers, along with residents of the area, continued their operation to find survivors and bodies through the night, once again laying bare the issue of unsafe housing in Karachi.
“Rescue operation still continues at Baghdadi Lyari where the building had collapsed yesterday,” Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said. “As of now the death toll is 15.”
The building collapse left around a dozen other people injured.
Many of the occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community and residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when the building collapsed.
According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe as far back as 2012.
“This building was declared dangerous by the SBCA in 2012 and had been served multiple notices over the years,” SBCA spokesperson Shakeel Dogar told Arab News. “Before the recent rains, public announcements were also made in the area, but unfortunately, no one was willing to vacate.”
Friday’s incident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi.
In February 2020, a five-storey building collapsed in Rizvia Society, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure came down in Gulbahar, claiming 16 lives. In June 2021, a three-storey building in Malir collapsed, killing four. And just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur'angi led to at least three deaths.
Mayor Wahab said on Friday evening that rescue efforts remained their top priority, with accountability and investigation to follow.
“Once we’re done with the rescue aspect, we will focus on who was responsible for this negligence or omission,” he added.