The number of confirmed victims in the tragic collapse of a residential building in the Pakistani metropolis of Karachi has risen to 26 people, reports the Pakistani news channel GNN (facebook.com). Rescue operations at the scene entered an extremely critical phase in the early hours of the day, with teams racing against time to find people trapped.
State emergency services officials and volunteers continue to manually and with the help of heavy equipment to clear tons of concrete debris. The work on the ground is greatly hampered by the density of the urban environment and the narrow streets in the area, which limits the maneuvering of large-sized machines.
According to official sources from the local administration, quoted by international agencies, the building was in poor structural condition. The problem of unregulated construction, the use of padded and low-quality materials, as well as the lack of strict safety controls remain among the main causes of such incidents in Pakistan.
The authorities in Sindh province have already launched an investigation to determine the exact reasons that led to the sudden collapse of the multi-storey residential building. Dozens of people remain missing, and hospitals in Karachi are on high alert to receive any new survivors pulled from the rubble.