ISLAMABAD: At least four people were killed and six injured when the roof of a house in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore collapsed, an emergency rescue service said on Thursday, with authorities engaged in retrieving people trapped underneath the debris.
The incident took place late Wednesday in Lahore’s Harbanspura area, local media widely reported. Pakistani newspaper Dawn cited the district administration’s incident report as saying that the roof of the house, which was overloaded with sand and bricks, could not bear the load and consequently collapsed.
“Four people were killed and six others injured in the roof collapse incident,” Rescue 1122 Punjab said in a statement. “The Urban Search and Rescue team is engaged in retrieving people trapped under the debris.”
It said 10 emergency vehicles and 40 rescue personnel are at the site for the rescue operation, adding that the rescued individuals were provided first aid and shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment.
According to the list issued by Rescue 1122, the deceased included two women aged 60 and 52, as well as a 25-year-old man and a seven-year-old boy. The injured and bodies of the deceased were shifted to the Services Hospital Lahore and the Mayo Hospital.
The Punjab government did not issue a statement about the incident nor about the cause of the roof collapse.
The incident takes place nearly two months after the roof of a tuition center in Lahore collapsed on June 30 and killed 14 students. The Punjab government said preliminary reports showed the tutoring center was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential building under a dilapidated roof.
Following the incident, the provincial government said authorities had been directed to survey unsafe buildings ahead of the monsoon season and introduce stricter rules for unregistered tutoring centers and private educational facilities.
