MIRPUR: A triple-storeyed marriage hall building collapsed on Friday in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Mirpur area, where a rescue operation is underway to help people out from under the rubble, police said.
So far, 17 people have been rescued from underneath the debris, according to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Army troops are carrying out rescue and relief efforts along with civil administration, said ISPR.
The military's media wing said that the army's Urban Search & Rescue team came in from Rawalpindi to aid in the efforts.
The incident occurred when labourers were working to renovate the building of a marriage hall in Mirpur’s Chaksawari area.
A police official said that the owner of the marriage hall, Nadeem (last name unknown), is also among those buried in the building's rubble.
According to a wounded labourer, who was later rescued by officials, more than 50 labourers were working on the building when it came crashing down.
The deputy commissioner Mirpur acknowledged that Pakistan Army officials along with rescue personnel are taking part in the operation which was underway till the filing of this report.