Hopes fading for survivors as 20 killed in Pakistan factory collapse
Print Edition
HOPES of finding more survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Pakistani factory were fading as darkness fell yesterday, with rescuers warning the death toll would likely rise as they dig further down through the debris.
Soldiers and rescuers have pulled 108 people out of the rubble of the four-story factory in Lahore alive, with at least 20 people confirmed dead, officials said, carefully cutting through steel and using cranes and heavy machinery to lift the debris.
“Almost 24 hours have passed and there are less chances of life now,” Arshad Zia, head of rescue services in Punjab province, said last night.
Rescuers have only removed rubble from the top two floors, he said, adding that more workers were believed to have been on the bottom floors at the time of the collapse.
He had not given up hope, however. “Miracles can happen at any time and that’s why we are moving slowly.”
It was unclear how many people were in the building when it collapsed or how many -- dead or alive -- may still be trapped.
Rescue services spokesman Jam Sajjad Hussain said earlier yesterday it was “difficult” to give a specific number, but said workers had told officials that around 200 people were inside at the time of the collapse, including the owner.
Officials fear that dozens more bodies may be found on the lower floors.
Employee Mohammad Navid said yesterday that up to 50 workers may have been sleeping in a part of the building that rescuers had not yet reached, and that children as young as 12 had been working in the factory.
Another employee, 18-year-old Mohammad Irfan, said from his hospital bed that the workers were “mostly” aged between 14 and 25.
The collapse occurred at the Rajput Polyester polythene bag factory in the Sundar industrial estate. The factory may have suffered damage in the October 26 quake which killed almost 400 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan, Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif said.
“I have heard about the earthquake affecting the building, but according to laborers the owner continued to build an extension,” he told reporters.
“The building caved in with a big bang and I fell unconscious on the ground,” Navid said, adding that he regained consciousness after some 15 minutes.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
