KARACHI: Four men and a woman suffered injuries when an old and dilapidated building collapsed in Ranchore Line on Sunday evening.

Rescue-1122 official Hassaan Khan told Dawn that the first and second floors of the residential buildings collapsed.

The official said a team of experts launched a rescue operation at the scene and managed to pull out all five people from the rubble.

They suffered injuries and they were given first aid on the scene and they were shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment. The condition of the woman injured is said to be critical.

The rescue official said it appeared to be a British-era building whose structure had been declared ‘weak’ by experts and it was ‘unlivable’. It was feared that the structure could collapse any time, he added.

Therefore, the authorities concerned had advised the occupants to vacate the place but the family living on the ground floor appeared reluctant to leave the place saying that they had not place to go after vacating it.

Sindh Building Control Authority Director General Abdul Rasheed Solangi visited the scene and told the media that the building was constructed in 1937.

He said the authority had declared the building ‘dangerous’ and issued many notices to the occupants to vacate the building.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2024