Latest news with #safetystandards
Malay Mail
06-07-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Karachi building collapse: Rescue teams wrap up search after 27 killed
KARACHI, July 6 — 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 today. 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 this morning. 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 yesterday. '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. — AFP
CNA
06-07-2025
- CNA
Death toll in Pakistan building collapse rises to 27
KARACHI, Pakistan: 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 on Sunday (Jul 6). Residents reported hearing cracking sounds shortly before the apartment block crumbled around 10am 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. 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.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Rental homes to be made 'safe' under new law
A new law designed to ensure that rental homes are safe and fit for purpose was due to come into effect on legislation was passed by the States of Deliberation in March and is part of work being carried out to tackle Guernsey's "significant housing pressures".Providing safe drinking water, ensuring buildings are structurally sound and complying with fire safety requirements would be set as minimum standards for rental accommodation.A Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) will also come into effect to assess the impact of hazards such as damp and mould, excess heat and cold, lighting and risk of falls. 'Dangerous homes' The States said more measures would be introduced so that less serious issues could be addressed without needing "heavy enforcement".Tobin Cook, director of environmental health and pollution regulation, said the move was a "crucial step to improving the quality of homes" on Guernsey's rental market."There are many well looked after and safe units of rental accommodation but there are still people who are living in entirely unsafe and dangerous homes," he said."This legislation provides a proportionate way to work with landlords to see the quality of our housing stock improve across the island, making more homes available to be safely lived in."
Malay Mail
12-06-2025
- Malay Mail
Teluk Intan crash: FRU truck lacked seat belts; lorry violated GPS rules, says Transport Ministry
KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Both vehicles involved in the fatal Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) truck crash in Teluk Intan last month were found to have breached key safety standards, according to a preliminary report released by the Transport Ministry. The FRU truck, which was carrying 18 personnel from Unit 5 Sungai Senam, lacked essential passive safety features, including seat belts in the rear cabin and front seats, according to a report published in Berita Harian today. The bench-type rear seats had no restraints, and the absence of seat belts is believed to have significantly increased the severity of injuries during the May 13 collision. Investigators found that most of the passengers were likely thrown forward upon impact, particularly towards the front-left section of the cabin, causing multiple secondary impacts between individuals and the cabin interior. Unsecured objects in the cabin may have also turned into projectiles, compounding the risk. 'The combination of missing restraint systems and unsecured objects is believed to be a major contributing factor to the high number of severe injuries and fatalities in this incident,' the report stated. It added that urgent attention is needed to improve safety standards in such vehicles. Meanwhile, in another report published by Buletin TV3 today, the same report also revealed that the lorry involved, which was transporting stones, had not met mandatory GPS installation and operational requirements as stipulated under Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) guidelines. The lorry's GPS system was inactive, prompting the ministry to issue a show-cause letter on May 23. This non-compliance breached Item 11 of the Service Level Requirements and Section 57 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010 (Act 715). The guidelines require all commercial vehicles to be fitted with functional GPS to monitor speed and location, with exemptions only for school buses operating across fewer than three districts. Operators are expected to use GPS data for monitoring, disciplinary action, and record-keeping, while preventing tampering or data falsification. Failure to comply could result in fines, imprisonment, or suspension or revocation of licenses. While dashcams are not yet mandatory, the ministry said new safety regulations may require their installation starting in early 2026. The crash on May 13 occurred at approximately 8.50am, killing eight officers at the scene, with another later succumbing to injuries at Teluk Intan Hospital. Nine others were injured. The FRU personnel were en route back to Ipoh after completing duty at the Chitrapournami celebration.
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- News.com.au
Popular gaming-inspired bean bag pulled from Target shelves over severe safety risk
A popular PAC-Man gaming beanbag has been urgently taken off shelves after failing to adhere to safety standards. The bright yellow PAC-Man styled beanbag cover, which is used for gaming and available for purchase at Target stores and online across the country, has been recalled due to a lack of correctly-displayed safety warning tags. 'The product does not comply with the mandatory standard for beanbags,' the ACCC said in a statement. 'The required safety warning labels are not displayed correctly.' The ACCC said there was a severe risk of injury or death from suffocating or choking if young children access the polystyrene filling or try and climb inside the beanbag. It was available for purchase between March 30 2025 and May 14 2025, was sold by Plan B International Hong Kong Limited and has the Target keycode 70744552. The ACCC has urged customers to 'stop using the product immediately' and keep it out of reach of young children.
