Woman killed, six hurt as old building partially collapses in Karachi

KARAHI: A woman died and six people suffered injuries after a portion of an old unsafe building fell near the Shaheen Complex off II Chundrigar Road late on Saturday night, Geo News reported.

Several people were feared trapped in the rubble and a rescue operation continued in the early hours of Sunday. Children and women were among the injured, who were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Soon after the tragic incident, rescuers from the Edhi Foundation and the Chhipa Welfare Association reached the scene and started efforts to save the trapped residents.

Police and Rangers’ personnel also arrived at the scene and helped in the operation by cordoning off the scene, where a large number of onlookers had gathered. Rescuers said a portion of the building collapsed after the roof of a two-storey building caved in.

The Sindh Building Control Authority was said to have issued notices to the residents of the building last month, cautioning them to vacate their homes as soon as possible, but the families demanded alternate accommodation before they moved out.

The authority has declared around 300 buildings dangerous in Karachi, but in the absence of the alternate accommodation, the families are still living in them.

- Originally appeared in The News

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