HYDERABAD- At least 12 persons, including women and children, were killed and 18 others injured when two building collapsed in the locality of Choori Para here on Tuesday.
Rescue sources said that two multi-storey dilapidated buildings located in Ilyasabad near Memon Hospital in Hyderabad suddenly caved in. As a result dozen of people were buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Rangers, officials of National Highway Authority, Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Sindh Building Control Authority rushed to the spot and kicked off the rescue operation.
The rescue personnel in assistance with volunteers rescued 12 bodies and dozens of injured from the debris. The injured were rushed to hospital where according to hospital sources condition of several wounded people was serious and it was feared that death toll could rise further.
Most of the deceased belonged to one family and many were trapped under the debris which rescue workers continue to remove, with fears there may be more casualties. The house was owned by Chaudhry Yamin Siddiqui – who was using the premises for making bangles – and most of deceased are family members of his brother, Akhtar Siddiqui. The incident took place between 1.30pm and 2pm when the two stories house collapsed. Its debris fell on an adjoining house.
MPAs rushed to the spot to supervise relief and rescue work. Commissioner Hyderabad Jamal Mustafa Syed and SSP Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi visited the spot and hospital to see arrangements.
“I rushed to the spot to ensure rescue operations started immediately and that’s why we are able to shift maximum number of injured to the hospital to save their lives,” said Deputy Commissioner Hyderabad Mohammad Nawaz Sohoo.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, while expressing grief over the incident, sought report from the deputy commissioner in the regard. He instructed the authority concerned to ensure best treatment for those injured in the incident. Area residents said that on ground storey of Akhtar’s house, labourers would use a cauldron for bangle work. An inquiry committee is to be formed by administration for the incident.
A large number of people gathered there that made the job of rescuers’ difficult to a great extent. Some adjoining builders were vacated under directives of the district administration to avoid any more damages from occurring.
It was in June 1996 when in a similar incident 25 people were killed when a multi-storey building – Arain Manzil - collapsed in Market Tower area due to deep digging on an adjacent plot by a builder. On Sept 11 in 2013, three labourers were killed in Liaqat Colony area when an under-construction ground plus three storey building had collapsed.