Pakistan Building Collapse Kills 7
The incident happened shortly after 10 am (0500 GMT) in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.
Shankar Kamho, 30, a resident of the building who was out at the time, said around 20 families were living inside.
"I got a call from my wife saying the building was cracking and I told her to get out immediately," he told AFP at the scene.
"She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her 'this building will stand for at least 10 more years'. Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed."
Rescuers retrieved seven bodies from the rubble, and rescued eight injured people, an official leading the operations, Abid Jalaluddin Shaikh, told AFP.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab confirmed the death toll to reporters as he visited the site.
Up to 100 people had been living in the building, senior police officer Arif Aziz told AFP.
Saad Edhi, of the Edhi welfare foundation that is part of the rescue operation, told AFP there could be "at least eight to 10 more people still trapped", describing it as a "worn-out building".
Nearby residents rushed to save their neighbours before rescuers took over to remove the rubble, along with at least five excavators.
The heavy machinery struggled to access the narrow alleys, and police baton-charged residents to clear the way.
All six family members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari were at his flat on the first floor when he left for work early in the morning.
"Nothing is left for me now -- my family is all trapped and all I can do is pray for their safe recovery," he told AFP.
Another resident, Maya Sham Jee, said her brother's family was also trapped under the rubble.
"It's a tragedy for us. The world has been changed for our family," she told AFP.
"We are helpless and just looking at the rescue workers to bring our loved ones back safely."
In June 2020, at least 18 people were killed when a residential building housing about 40 apartments collapsed in the same area of the city.
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
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Fear And Relief In Thai Shelter As Cambodia Clashes Rage
Sitting on plastic mats in a sports hall, desperate evacuees told AFP of fleeing in terror from thunderous artillery bombardments as Thailand and Cambodia clash. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in four Thai border provinces amid the worst fighting between the two neighbours in over a decade. As artillery fire thundered on Thursday, thousands of people in northeastern Surin province fled their homes and sought refuge in makeshift shelters set up in the town centre. In the sports hall of Surindra Rajabhat University, nearly 3,000 people were packed tight on rows of plastic mats, scattered with colourful blankets and hastily packed personal belongings. "I'm worried about our home, our animals, and the crops we've worked so hard on," Thidarat Homhuan, 37, told AFP. She fled with nine other family members, including her 87-year-old grandmother who had just been discharged from hospital. "That concern is still there. But being here does feel safer, since we're further from the danger zone now. At least we're safe," she said. Thidarat was babysitting for a teacher at a local school when she heard what she described as "something like machine gun fire", followed by the heavy thud of artillery. "It was chaos. The kids were terrified. I rushed to the school's bunker," she said. Inside the shelter, evacuees slept side by side beneath the gym's high roof, surrounded by the hum of electric fans and quiet murmurs of uncertainty. The elderly lay bundled in blankets, babies dozed in cradles while youngsters played quietly. Pet cats rested in mesh pop-up crates near the public restroom. It is the first time the university has been fully activated as a shelter site, said Chai Samoraphum, director of the university's president's office. Classes were abruptly cancelled, and within an hour, the campus was converted into a functioning evacuation centre. Thousands of evacuees from four districts next to the border were placed into six locations across the campus. "Most of them left in a hurry. Some have chronic health conditions but didn't bring their medications, others only managed to grab a few belongings," Chai told AFP. With help from the provincial hospital, the centre is also caring for people with chronic illnesses and providing mental health services for those struggling with trauma, Chai said. Border clashes between the two nations have left at least 14 people dead in Thailand, officials said, including one soldier and civilians caught in a rocket strike near a petrol station in Sisaket province. Thidarat said the current conflict feels more severe than the last major clashes in 2011. "It wasn't this serious back then. People's houses weren't damaged like this. There were no announcements about civilians being injured," Thidarat said. "This year is much worse -- the number of deaths and injuries is really devastating." As clashes go on near the border, there is no clear timeline for when people can return home. For now, the shelter provides a sense of safety -- and a place to wait for a sign that it's safe to "go back to normal life," Thidarat said. She already had a message for those in power: "I want the government to take decisive action -- don't wait until lives are lost." "Civilians look up to (the government) for protection, and we rely on them deeply," she said. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in four Thai border provinces amid the worst fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in over a decade AFP Evacuees slept side by side beneath the gym's high roof, surrounded by the hum of electric fans and quiet murmurs of uncertainty AFP
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Plane Crash In Russia's Far East Kills Nearly 50 People
A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed in a remote area of Russia's far eastern Amur region on Thursday, killing all on board, authorities said. The plane, a Soviet-made twin-propeller Antonov-24, went down in remote, thickly forested terrain, leaving a column of smoke pouring from the crash site and no signs of survivors, according to state media and videos published by investigators. The Angara Airlines flight was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at around 1:00 pm local time (0400 GMT). A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Tynda's airport. Videos published by Russian investigators showed smoke rising from the crash site and what appeared to be fragments of the plane strewn across the forest floor. A search and rescue team arrived only hours after the crash at the remote, hard-to-reach site and found no evidence of survivors, according to the state news agency TASS. Investigators did not say what caused the crash. Weather conditions at the time of the incident were poor, Angara Airlines CEO Sergei Salamanov told Russia's REN TV channel. "The commander made the decision to carry out the flight," he was quoted as saying. Tynda, home to around 30,000 people, lies in an area of thick taiga forest about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the Chinese border. At least one Chinese national was on the flight, state media in China reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims," Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The plane dropped from radar while attempting a second approach to land at Tynda, regional prosecutors said. The forest terrain complicated search efforts, a rescuer told the TASS agency. "The main search operations are being conducted from the air," it said. Angara Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Russian city of Irkutsk, did not immediately release a statement on the crash. Russia's aviation watchdog has not yet given a definitive number of people on board. The Amur region's governor, Vasily Orlov, said the plane was carrying 43 passengers and six crew members. Among the passengers were five children, he said. The TASS agency cited emergency services as saying the plane was carrying 40 passengers and six crew. Aviation authorities have opened an investigation. The plane appeared to have been manufactured almost 50 years ago, during the Soviet era, according to civil aviation database In 2021, the aircraft's airworthiness certificate was extended until 2036, data from the site showed. AFP was not able to immediately verify this information. The Antonov-24 is a popular, Soviet-designed turboprop plane that first entered into service in 1959. Russia has taken steps to switch from Soviet aircraft to modern jets in recent years, but ageing light aircraft are still widely used in far-flung regions, with accidents frequent.
DW
5 days ago
- DW
Bangladesh: Many killed after plane crashes into school – DW – 07/21/2025
At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 were injured after a Bangladesh Air Force plane crashed into a school building in Dhaka. It is the country's deadliest aviation disaster in more than 40 years. At least 19 people were killed and dozens injured on Monday when a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a school campus in Dhaka, marking the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades, authorities said. "The bodies of those whose identities can be confirmed will be handed over to their families as soon as possible," Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus said on X. "The bodies of those whose identities cannot be immediately confirmed will be identified through DNA testing and subsequently handed over to their families." "To ensure uninterrupted medical operations, the general public is specially requested to avoid unnecessary crowding in the hospital area," he added. At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in the crash, with at least 83 needing hospital treatment, the office of Yunus said. The Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft took off at 1:06 pm local time (0706 GMT) and crashed soon after at the Milestone School and College campus. The educational institution is located in the Uttara neighborhood and students were in class at the time of the accident. The school has students from elementary up to 12th grade. Footage of the aftermath of the crash showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds watched on from afar. Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, Reuters TV visuals showed. The cause of the crash is not yet known and the government said it would launch an investigation. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Bangladesh's deadliest ever aviation disaster occurred in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board. Monday's incident comes a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in India's Ahmedabad city, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, making it the world's deadliest aviation disaster in a decade.
