Death toll in Pakistan building collapse rises to 21
KARACHI, (Pakistan): The death toll from the collapse of a residential building in the Pakistani mega-city of Karachi rose to 21 on Saturday (July 5), after rescue teams worked for a second day in search of survivors.
Authorities said the building had been declared unsafe and eviction notices were sent to occupants over three years, but landlords and some residents told AFP they had not received them.
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.
The death toll stood at 21 late Saturday, said senior district government official Javed Nabi Khoso. The rescue operation was ongoing.
"My daughter is under the rubble," 54-year-old Dev Raj told AFP at the scene.
"She was my beloved daughter. She was so sensitive but is under the burden of debris. She got married just six months ago."
Earlier Saturday, families said that at least eight people were still believed to be trapped as temperatures climbed to 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit).
Khoso said that notices had been served in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to occupants.
"We don't want to impose our orders by force. We work in phases and send them notices to leave the building. They didn't take the notices seriously," he told AFP.
But Imran Khaskheli, an owner and resident watching the rescue operation on Saturday, denied receiving notices.
"Do you think we are out of our senses to stay in an unsafe building with our families?" he said.
Khaskheli told AFP he had seen cracks in the pillars of the building early Friday.
"I knocked on all the doors and asked families to leave immediately," he said, adding that around 40 families lived in the building but that many did not heed his warning.
More than 50 buildings in the district have been declared unsafe, with six evacuated since yesterday, according to Khoso.
- 'We are helpless' -
Many of the victims are believed to be women, who are more likely to be at home during the day.
All six members of 70-year-old Jumho Maheshwari's family were in their first-floor apartment 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 said Friday.
Another resident, Maya Sham Jee, told AFP 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 said.
"We are helpless and just looking at the rescue workers to bring our loved ones back safely."
Shankar Kamho, a 30-year-old resident, was out at the time when his wife called to say the building was cracking.
"I told her to get out immediately," he told AFP.
"She went to warn the neighbours, but one woman told her 'this building will stand for at least 10 more years'," he said.
"Still, my wife took our daughter and left. About 20 minutes later, the building collapsed." - AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Malaysia
4 hours ago
- Herald Malaysia
Letter from Gaza: The last word is for life and peace
L'Osservatore Romano's young contributor who was wounded in the Israeli attack on the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, shares his recollection of the raid and the beginning, for him, of a path of recovery. He affirms that even in the face of violence and despair, the final word belongs not to war, but to life and peace. Jul 26, 2025 Displaced Palestinians flee Beit Lahia, north of Gaza City (AFP or licensors) By Suhail Abu DawoodHello everyone! I'm happy to be back with another article. Today is the 656th day of war, suffering, and death in our beloved Gaza Strip. Thursday, 24 July, marked exactly one week since I was injured while I walked to the Father's house inside our church compound... It was 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, 17, for my lesson on spirituality. The bomb was so strong I couldn't protect myself from the fragments, so sadly, I was injured on my lower back. The fragment damaged my right leg and caused some serious injuries inside my stomach and abdomen. I felt an excruciating pain and dropped to the floor, face down, and I started bleeding heavily. Thank be to God, Father Gabriel and Father Iusuf saw that I was injured, so they called the ambulance to take me. Father Gabriel kneeled on the floor and held my head ( He has problems in his knees ), and Father Carlos was also with us as we prayed: O Lord Jesus, help us! O Holy Virgin Mary… Thanks to God, they managed to take me to the Al-Ahly Hospital 10 minutes after I was injured. The situation there was something I couldn't describe; it was so awful. They put me in an emergency tent on the floor, and my mother, my father, my aunt, and Father Carlos stayed with me all the time. Never in my life had I felt such pain and suffering. After so many days and months, I was wounded because of the war, and instead of bringing the news of the war to you, I was the news. I will not forget what the Fathers told me when the pain was intolerable. They said to me: Remember the Calvary! Jesus was there, on the cross, suffering and dying, and you too put all your sufferings and pain on the Cross. Finally, after 2 hours of waiting, at noon, I was taken into Surgery to be operated on. Many fragments inside my abdomen caused infections. The surgery took about 5 hours, and I woke up at 7:00 pm. Many people came to visit me: my family, parishioners, and, of course, our Fathers. I was totally out of focus. My injury isn't the end of writing, but it's the beginning of a new, empty page. As always, the last word isn't for death and war, but for life and peace. Because peace is stronger than war… To be continued.... --Vatican News
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Day of prayers for victims after Bangladesh jet crash
Muslims offer a special prayer at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka on July 25, 2025, for the victims of the tragic plane crash at the Milestone School and College. Special prayers were held across Bangladesh on July 25, as the death toll from a fighter jet crash into a school building in Dhaka rose to 32. - AFP DHAKA: Special prayers were held across Bangladesh on Friday (July 25), as the death toll from a fighter jet crash into a school building in Dhaka rose to 32. Most of the dead were children - the youngest aged nine - after the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College on Monday following a mechanical failure. The authorities earlier said 31 people were killed and 170 injured in the deadliest aviation disaster in the country in decades. The latest to succumb to her injuries was 10-year-old Tasnim Afroz Ayman, hospital coordinator Sarkar Farhana Kabir told AFP. "She was undergoing treatment in the High Dependency Unit with 45 per cent burns," she said. Ayman's uncle, Saiful Islam, said she remained calm and composed despite undergoing excruciating pain during her final hours. "Even last night, she consoled her mother. But God had other plans," Saiful told AFP. As of Friday, 51 others were receiving treatment in various city hospitals. Following a government directive, all mosques across the country held special prayers during the Friday congregation. Ashraful Islam, who came to pray at a mosque close to the school, lost both his children - Tahia Ashraf Nazia, 13, and Arian Ashraf Nafi, 9. "I have nothing left," Ashraful told reporters. Nazia kept asking about her younger brother Nafi until her last breath, he added. Her final request was for an ice cream, said her aunt Naznin Akhter. "I'm burning inside. Give me some ice cream... and don't let go of my hand," were her last words, she told a local TV channel. India and Singapore have sent doctors specialising in burn care to assist their Bangladesh colleagues. A military investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the accident. - AFP
Malay Mail
10 hours ago
- Malay Mail
‘We were born into the peatlands': Inside Indonesia's grassroots battle for the swamps
LEBUNG ITAM, July 26 — Indonesian environmentalist Pralensa steered his boat through a shallow canal in the marshy peatlands near his village, an environment he fears may soon disappear. His oar stirred up rich organic material in the brackish water, evidence of the layers of plant matter that make peatlands vital carbon dioxide stores and key to biodiversity. Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any other country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem. That affects local residents and wildlife but also has global impacts, because converted peatland can release vast quantities of planet-warming carbon dioxide. Just 18.4 per cent of Indonesia's peatlands remain 'undisturbed', a 2023 study found, with vast tracts now palm oil or timber plantations. Pralensa worries a similar fate awaits much of the swampy peatland around his village of Lebung Itam in South Sumatra. An aerial view of a palm oil plantation (right) and a peatland forest in Bangsal, South Sumatra June 10, 2025. — AFP pic Locals say palm oil firm Bintang Harapan Palma has already begun digging canals to drain the peatlands for planting. 'We protested... we told them this is a community-managed area,' said Pralensa, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name. 'According to them, they already have rights to this land.' Bintang Harapan Palma did not respond to AFP's request for comment. Peatlands are an in-between place -- seemingly neither water nor land -- an environment that slows plant decomposition and forms carbon-rich peat. Covering just 3 per cent of the world's surface, they hold an estimated 44 per cent of all soil carbon. Indonesia's peatlands are home to endangered orangutans, as well as economically important fish species. They also help prevent flooding and drought, lower local temperatures and minimise saltwater intrusion. For Pralensa, peatlands are no less than a 'spiritual bond'. 'From the moment that we exist, that we're born, we are aware of this peatland. We encounter it every moment of every day,' the 44-year-old said. Angkut Join, the head of Bangsal village, poses for a picture at the edge of the seasonally dry peat swamp in Bangsal, South Sumatra June 10, 2025. — AFP pic Catastrophic fires Indonesia's peatland has long been converted for agriculture, drained of the water that is its lifeblood, with severe consequences. Dry peat is highly flammable, and fire can smoulder underground and reignite seemingly at will. Peatlands were a leading cause of Indonesia's catastrophic 2015 fires, which burned through an area about 4.5 times the size of Bali and cost the country some $16.1 billion, or about two per cent of GDP, according to the World Bank. The blazes sparked calls for action, including a moratorium on new peatland concessions. Government regulations adopted the following year banned several damaging activities, including burning and drying out peatland. The environment ministry did not respond to questions submitted by AFP. Marda Ellius, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against three companies accused of causing wildfires, poses on a hammock next to the seasonally dry peat swamp in Bangsal, South Sumatra June 10, 2025. — AFP pic 'Weak oversight and law enforcement in Indonesia allow the exploitation of peatlands to continue,' said Wahyu Perdana at peatland preservation NGO Pantau Gambut. And fires still happen 'almost every year,' said Rohman, a farmer in Bangsal village, around two hours west of Lebung Itam. Like Lebung Itam, it is ringed by plantations on converted peatland. Bangsal residents could once rely on vast wetlands to feed their distinctive buffalo, which dive beneath the water to graze. Fish traps supplied additional income, along with small rice paddies. Now, buffalo are hemmed in by plantations, while fish are affected by walls that keep the plantations dry, and fertilisers and herbicides flushed out by rain. Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem. That affects local residents and wildlife but also has global impacts, because converted peatland can release vast quantities of planet-warming carbon dioxide. — AFP pic 'We must protect nature' Plantation infrastructure prevents water from subsiding properly when the rains end, complicating rice planting And then there is the seasonal haze. 'It's difficult to do anything' when it descends, said Rohman, with visibility sometimes dropping to just a few metres. Everything from 'economic activity to children playing and learning is very disrupted'. Rohman, 53, was one of several plaintiffs from Bangsal and Lebung Itam who filed a landmark lawsuit over the fires. They argued three companies with nearby timber plantations on peatland bore legal responsibility for the health, economic and social impacts of local fires. Filing the suit was not an easy decision, said Bangsal schoolteacher Marda Ellius, who alleges a company named in the case offered her money and help for her family if she withdrew. 'I kept thinking that, from the beginning, my goal here was for the environment, for many people,' she said. 'I chose to continue.' Water buffalo graze on aquatic plants in the seasonally dry peat swamp in Bangsal, South Sumatra June 11, 2025. — AFP pic AFP could not reach the companies named in the suit. Major firm Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which buys from the three companies, did not respond. This month, a local court rejected the suit, saying the plaintiffs lacked standing. 'The pain cannot be described,' plaintiff Muhammad Awal Gunadi said of the ruling. 'It was tough because we were facing corporations. The group has pledged to appeal, and Bangsal's villagers are lobbying local government for a new designation to protect their remaining peatland. Healthy peat is 'like the lungs of the Earth,' said Bangsal resident and buffalo farmer Muhammad Husin. 'Hopefully, if we protect nature, nature will also protect us.' — AFP
