Death toll from Pakistan building collapse rises to 23
The Fotan Mansion residential building, where several families were said to be living, crumbled around 10 am on Friday in the impoverished Lyari neighborhood of the city.
Rescue workers, along with residents of the area, worked through the night to find survivors and bodies after the incident, which has once again laid bare the issue of unsafe housing in Karachi.
'[Total deaths] from the Karachi building collapse have reached 23 now,' the Sindh Health Department said in a message sent to reporters.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on Saturday morning the rescue operation was still ongoing at the collapse site.
'Rescue operation still continues at Baghdadi Lyari where the building had collapsed yesterday,' Wahab wrote on social media platform X.
Many of the occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community and residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when the building collapsed.
According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe three years ago.
'This building was declared dangerous by the SBCA in 2022 and had been served multiple notices over the years,' SBCA spokesperson Shakeel Dogar told Arab News on Saturday.
'Before the recent rains, public announcements were also made in the area, but unfortunately, no one was willing to vacate.'
Friday's incident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi.
In February 2020, a five-story building collapsed in Rizvia Society, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure came down in Gulbahar, claiming 16 lives. In June 2021, a three-story building in Malir collapsed, killing four. And just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur'angi led to at least three deaths.
Mayor Wahab said on Friday evening that rescue efforts remained the city government's top priority, with accountability and investigation to follow.
'Once we're done with the rescue aspect, we will focus on who was responsible for this negligence or omission,' he added.
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Arab News
17 hours ago
- Arab News
Survivors grieve, worry about future after deadly building collapse in Pakistan
KARACHI: Survivors of a building collapse that killed 27 people in the Pakistani city of Karachi were trying on Monday to come to terms with the loss of loved ones and their homes. The five-story building collapsed on Friday in the overcrowded inner-city Lyari district where many working-class and poor families live in aging apartment blocks. The site is now a tangle of twisted metal, shattered concrete and scattered belongings, schoolbooks, shoes and sewing machines. On Monday, rescue officials said the death toll had reached 27 and dozens of people were being housed in makeshift shelters following the building's collapse and the evacuation of nearby buildings over structural fears. 'I grew up in that building. I knew everyone who lived there,' said Imdad Hussain, 28, a fisherman who lost neighbors, childhood friends and seven members of his extended family. He is now sheltering with relatives, and family members are in mourning as they try to figure out what the future holds. 'We've lost our home, our people. I don't know how we'll start again,' he said. Officials in Karachi, the capital of the southeastern province of Sindh, said the building had received multiple evacuation notices since 2023, including a final one in late June. Saeed Ghani, Provincial Minister of Sindh for Local Governments, said the Karachi commissioner — who oversees the city administration — had been tasked with inspecting 51 buildings identified as 'extremely dangerous' to prevent similar collapses. BUILDING SHOOK VIOLENTLY Residents said the building in Lyari, which has been home to generations of working-class families from minority and migrant backgrounds, shook violently on Friday before collapsing in a cloud of dust. Rescue workers had been digging through the debris since Friday but declared the search over late on Sunday. They said about 100 residents from 12 families had been living in the building, and nearly 50 more families had been displaced after three neighboring buildings were declared unsafe and evacuated. Lakshmi, a school janitor who lived next door to the collapsed building, said her sister had lived in the building that came down and called moments before it fell to say it was shaking. Her sister survived, but Lakshmi feared losing the gold she had left with her for safekeeping before her daughter's wedding. 'We got out with our lives, but everything else is gone, with no certainty about what is to come,' Lakshmi said.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Death toll from Pakistan building collapse rises to 23
KARACHI: The death toll from a five-story building collapse in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi rose to 23 late Saturday, the Sindh Health Department said after rescuers pulled more bodies from the rubble. The Fotan Mansion residential building, where several families were said to be living, crumbled around 10 am on Friday in the impoverished Lyari neighborhood of the city. Rescue workers, along with residents of the area, worked through the night to find survivors and bodies after the incident, which has once again laid bare the issue of unsafe housing in Karachi. '[Total deaths] from the Karachi building collapse have reached 23 now,' the Sindh Health Department said in a message sent to reporters. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on Saturday morning the rescue operation was still ongoing at the collapse site. 'Rescue operation still continues at Baghdadi Lyari where the building had collapsed yesterday,' Wahab wrote on social media platform X. Many of the occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community and residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when the building collapsed. According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe three years ago. 'This building was declared dangerous by the SBCA in 2022 and had been served multiple notices over the years,' SBCA spokesperson Shakeel Dogar told Arab News on Saturday. 'Before the recent rains, public announcements were also made in the area, but unfortunately, no one was willing to vacate.' Friday's incident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi. In February 2020, a five-story building collapsed in Rizvia Society, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure came down in Gulbahar, claiming 16 lives. In June 2021, a three-story building in Malir collapsed, killing four. And just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur'angi led to at least three deaths. Mayor Wahab said on Friday evening that rescue efforts remained the city government's top priority, with accountability and investigation to follow. 'Once we're done with the rescue aspect, we will focus on who was responsible for this negligence or omission,' he added.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Arab News
Eight killed in Karachi building collapse, exposing city's crisis of unsafe housing
KARACHI: A five-story residential building collapsed in Karachi's densely populated Lyari neighborhood on Friday, killing at least eight people and trapping many others, in yet another tragedy underscoring the city's crisis of unsafe, aging structures. Rescue workers, aided by local residents, scrambled to pull people from the debris of the Fotan Mansion building, recovering both bodies and injured survivors. The collapse took place around 10:30 a.m., jolting the community. 'I suddenly woke up … it felt like there were tremors, like an earthquake,' said Salman Ahmed, who was sleeping in a nearby building at the time of the incident and later rescued two children. 'At the moment the building collapsed, nothing was visible,' he recalled. 'There was so much dust and smoke that no one could understand what had happened. 'We could hear voices coming from underneath [the rubble].' It was not immediately clear how many families lived in the building, but residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when it collapsed. Many of the occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community. As of Friday evening, a large rescue operation was still underway, with cranes clearing debris and rescuers working against time to reach those still trapped beneath the rubble. 'They handed me a three-month-old baby girl, she was alive,' said Maya Sham, a relative of a family living in the building. 'Right now, two of their sons and three daughters-in-law are still trapped. But we can still hear voices from inside.' The collapse devastated families like that of Megbhai, a member of the Hindu community, which largely resided in the building. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab confirmed that six people had died and eight were rescued alive. He said the building had long been on the city's 'danger list.' 'This building was declared dangerous, and a couple of notices were issued to the occupants to vacate because of its structure,' Wahab told Arab News at the site. 'But unfortunately, people chose to risk their lives, and they did not vacate.' Pakistan's largest city — home to over 20 million people — faces a chronic housing shortage. Many low-income residents live in dilapidated buildings that have escaped regular maintenance. Authorities have declared nearly 588 buildings dangerous in Karachi, most in the congested Old City area. According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe as far back as 2012. 'This building was declared dangerous by the SBCA in 2012 and had been served multiple notices over the years,' SBCA spokesperson Shakeel Dogar told Arab News. 'Before the recent rains, public announcements were also made in the area, but unfortunately, no one was willing to vacate,' he said, adding that it was the responsibility of the district administration to enforce the SBCA's evacuation directives. Mayor Wahab said rescue efforts remained the top priority, with accountability and investigation to follow. 'Our administration, our machinery is here on the ground,' he said. 'Once we're done with the rescue aspect, we will focus on who was responsible for this negligence or omission.' RECURRING TRAGEDY Friday's incident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi. In February 2020, a five-story building collapsed in Rizvia Society, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure came down in Gulbahar, claiming 16 lives. In June 2021, a three-story building in Malir collapsed, killing four. And just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur'angi led to at least three deaths. Most of these structures had either been declared unsafe or were built without proper approval. Experts say that despite repeated disasters, there has been little progress in enforcing building codes or relocating residents from hazardous structures. 'The incident of the building collapse in Lyari is deeply tragic,' said Muhammad Hassan Bakhshi, chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD). 'It is alarming that despite having a list of dangerous buildings, the SBCA did not take action to get them evacuated.' He urged the Sindh government to reassess buildings citywide and equip rescue teams with modern tools and technology. With hundreds of buildings still listed as unsafe, authorities now face mounting pressure to prevent future disasters. 'The way out is that we must follow what the law says,' said Mayor Wahab when asked if anyone would be held accountable. 'If citizens don't listen to us, the political leadership and the administration have to play their part to convince those people.' 'Nobody wants to leave their house... but we must learn from our mistakes and ensure no such untoward incident takes place in the future,' he said.
