&w=3840&q=100)
27 dead in Pakistan after five-storey building collapses in Karachi
Families wait amidst the debris of a collapsed building in Karachi on July 5, 2025. Source: AFP
Rescue teams were in the final stages of clearing the wreckage of a five-storey building that collapsed in Pakistan's mega city of Karachi killing 27 people, officials said Sunday.
Residents reported hearing cracking sounds shortly before the apartment block crumbled around 10:00 am on Friday in Karachi's impoverished Lyari neighbourhood, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.
'Most of the debris has been removed,' Hassaan Khan, a spokesman for government rescue service 1122 told AFP, adding that the death toll stood at 27 on Sunday morning.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
He expected the operation to finish by the afternoon.
Authorities said the building had been declared unsafe and eviction notices were sent to occupants between 2022 and 2024, but landlords and some residents told AFP they had not received them.
'My daughter is under the rubble,' 54-year-old Dev Raj told AFP at the scene on Saturday.
'She was my beloved daughter. She was so sensitive but is under the burden of debris. She got married just six months ago.'
Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.
But Karachi, home to more than 20 million, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding, and lax enforcement of building regulations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
a day ago
- Deccan Herald
The belief in queerness
The Queer Muslim Project's On the Brink of Belief amplifies South Asian queer voices, exploring faith, identity, and belonging, writes Saurabh Sharma.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Restored Nagasaki bell rings in 80 years since A-bomb
Twin cathedral bells rang in unison on Saturday (August 9, 2025) in Japan's Nagasaki for the first time since the atomic bombing of the city 80 years ago, commemorating the moment of horror. On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., three days after a nuclear attack on Hiroshima, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. After heavy downpours Saturday morning, the rain stopped shortly before a moment of silence and ceremony in which Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki urged the world to 'stop armed conflicts immediately'. 'Eighty years have passed, and who could have imagined that the world would become like this? 'A crisis that could threaten the survival of humanity, such as a nuclear war, is looming over each and every one of us living on this planet.' About 74,000 people were killed in the southwestern port city, on top of the 140,000 killed in Hiroshima. Days later, on August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered, marking the end of World War II. Historians have debated whether the bombings ultimately saved lives by bringing an end to the conflict and averting a ground invasion. 'Invisible terror' But those calculations meant little to survivors, many of whom battled decades of physical and psychological trauma, as well as the stigma that often came with being a hibakusha. Ninety-three-year-old survivor Hiroshi Nishioka, who was just three kilometres (1.8 miles) from the spot where the bomb exploded, told ceremony attendees of the horror he witnessed as a young teenager. 'Even the lucky ones (who were not severely injured) gradually began to bleed from their gums and lose their hair, and one after another they died,' he recalled. 'Even though the war was over, the atomic bomb brought invisible terror.' Nagasaki resident Atsuko Higuchi told AFP it 'made her happy' that everyone would remember the city's victims. 'Instead of thinking that these events belong to the past, we must remember that these are real events that took place,' the 50-year-old said. On Saturday, 200-300 people attending mass at Nagasaki's Immaculate Conception Cathedral heard the two bells ring together for the first time since 1945. One of them, 61-year-old Akio Watanabe, said he had been waiting since he was a young man to hear the bells chime together. The restoration is a 'symbol of reconciliation', he said, tears streaming down his face. The imposing red-brick cathedral, with its twin bell towers atop a hill, was rebuilt in 1959 after it was almost completely destroyed in the monstrous explosion just a few hundred meters away. Only one of its two bells was recovered from the rubble, leaving the northern tower silent. With funds from U.S. churchgoers, a new bell was constructed and restored to the tower, and chimed Saturday at the exact moment the bomb was dropped. 'Working together for peace' The cathedral's chief priest, Kenichi Yamamura, told AFP 'it's not about forgetting the wounds of the past but recognising them and taking action to repair and rebuild, and in doing so, working together for peace'. He also sees the chimes as a message to the world, shaken by multiple conflicts and caught in a frantic new arms race. Nearly 100 countries were set to participate in this year's commemorations, including Russia, which has not been invited since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Israel, whose ambassador was not invited last year over the war in Gaza, was in attendance. An American university professor, whose grandfather participated in the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons, spearheaded the bell project. During his research in Nagasaki, a Japanese Christian told him he would like to hear the two bells of the cathedral ring together in his lifetime. Inspired by the idea, James Nolan, a sociology professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, embarked on a year-long series of lectures about the atomic bomb across the United States, primarily in churches. 'In tears' He managed to raise $125,000 from American Catholics to fund the new bell. When it was unveiled in Nagasaki in the spring, 'the reactions were magnificent. There were people literally in tears', said Nolan. Many American Catholics he met were also unaware of the painful history of Nagasaki's Christians, who, converted in the 16th century by the first European missionaries and then persecuted by Japanese shoguns, kept their faith alive clandestinely for over 250 years. This story was told in the novel 'Silence' by Shusaku Endo, and adapted into a film by Martin Scorsese in 2016. He explains that American Catholics also showed 'compassion and sadness' upon hearing about the perseverance of Nagasaki's Christians after the atomic bomb, which killed 8,500 of the parish's 12,000 faithful. They were inspired by the 'willingness to forgive and rebuild'.
News18
2 days ago
- News18
Fire Breaks Out At Historic Mosque-Cathedral Of Córdoba in Spain I Watch
Last Updated: According to emergency crews, the blaze began around 9 pm local time in a lateral chapel area. A fire has broken out at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba in Spain, AFP reported. Firefighters are currently on the scene working to bring the blaze under control. Videos circulating online show flames and thick smoke rising from inside the historic structure, which is both a major tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to emergency crews, the blaze began around 9 pm local time in a lateral chapel area and is believed to have been caused by a battery malfunction in a cleaning machine. The exact cause is still under investigation, and further details are awaited. — Jose Maria Baena Roldan (@BaenaRolda13716) August 8, 2025 The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba was originally built as a mosque in 785 CE during the Umayyad Caliphate. It was later converted into a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1236 after the Christian reconquest of the city. Today, it officially functions as a Catholic cathedral, with daily Masses held on-site, while retaining much of its original Islamic architecture. view comments First Published: August 09, 2025, 02:03 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
