KARACHI: At least four young girls and a woman died and many others suffered serious injuries when a four-storey residential building in Frontier Colony collapsed on Wednesday apparently because rains had eroded the weak structure, rescue officials and witnesses said.
However, the death toll might increase as they believed there were many more people still trapped under the rubble while the rescue operation continued after sunset.
The witnesses residing in the congested Madina Basti located near Frontier Mor of Baldia Town’s UC-6 said the four-storey structure, built along the Orangi nullah, shook for a few seconds before falling to the ground with a bang at about 11.45am.
The area people said that it was basically a two-storey house of Mohammad Yousuf Khan, who got the top two floors constructed just a few months back before renting the space out. They added that three families had acquired the top floors on rent and were residing there.
While it is believed that three injured, including a teenage girl and a woman, were recovered and shifted to nearby hospitals before the arrival of rescue officials, the identities and exact number of victims remained unknown to the police and rescue officials.
By sunset, 116 workers of the city government’s urban search and rescue team, equipped with machinery, were able to retrieve five bodies.

They also spotted four other people — believed to be alive — under the rubble but remained unable to move the machinery to the affected area in the congested alleyway till our going to press.
“A total of five bodies have been retrieved so far,” said Masood Alam, the EDO of the city government’s municipal services, while speaking to Dawn. “All of them are either of women or children.”
“We can see four people under the rubble and are making every effort to reach them despite the bad weather and non-cooperation of area people.”
While the rescue workers had the machinery required in such operations, accessibility to the affected part in the congested area had emerged as a serious challenge, he said. “Yet we have continued our operation without any break after making arrangements for lights,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said that an exact deadline to wrap up the task could not be given at this point.Speaking to Dawn, the volunteers of charity organisations confirmed to have shifted five bodies to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
“The deceased victims include 40-year-old Nasreen and her 15-year-old daughter, Sadaf,” said an official at the Edhi Foundation. He added that five-year-old Sawera, seven-year-old Azra and an unidentified girl under 10 years also died.
An official at the hospital said that most victims sustained head injuries while a few were also hit in the chest and upper torso.
An area resident, Shiraz Khan, said: “People saw building shaking for [a few] seconds before falling to the ground. They struggled to rescue those under the debris but couldn’t do so manually. We heard people and relatives of the victims saying that there were more than 25 people inside the building when it collapsed.”
‘Flaws in design’
The city government officials concerned and police investigators found serious flaws in the building design and also doubted the quality of the material used in its construction.
“There are some serious and obvious faults in the structure,” the EDO municipal services said.
“The pillars which were used as the foundation to support the structure can’t be declared fit,” he said, adding that he had observed some samples of the construction material. The rains must have eroded the vulnerable construction design and material, he said.
The police also came up with the same findings hours after the collapse. The incident seemed a case of criminal negligence, they said, adding that legal formalities were being pursued.
“In fact, Mohammad Yousuf, who owned the structure, also resided in the same building, and unfortunately one of the girls died in the incident was his daughter,” said Raheem Khan, the SHO of the Pirabad police station.
He added that other family members of the building owner also sustained injuries.
He further said that efforts were under way to find the person who designed the building. “We have collected some samples of the construction material and other stuff from the scene to determine the cause of the collapse and started a search for the designer of the structure.”