KARACHI: A Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) team probing the collapse of a residential building in Gulbahar area of the city claimed that the two-storey building caved in due to its weak foundation, ARY NEWS reported.
The three-member SBCA team reached the incident site that has already claimed lives of at least 16 people today. The initial report prepared by the team said that the building comprised of an old structure and weak foundation.
“No development work was ongoing in the building at the time of its collapse,” the report said and added that further clarity into the matter would come after the debris is removed.
The report also said that the underground boring in nearby areas impacted the building foundation. “We will be sending the samples from the debris for lab tests in order to ascertain real cause of the collapse,” said one official of the building authority.
He said that the SBCA is yet to found any record on the collapsed building and once the debris is cleared, the committee would visit again to launch probe into the matter.
It is pertinent to mention here that the rescue teams retrieved the body of a woman and a minor boy from the rubble earlier today taking the death toll to 16.
The five-storey residential building had collapsed in Karachi’s Golimar area yesterday leaving its residents stuck under the debris.
Pakistan Rangers – Sindh and local police are using heavy machinery to lift up heavy concrete slabs to recover the people buried under the building’s remains.
Read more: SBCA to demolish three dilapidated buildings in Karachi’s Liaquatabad
36 injured who were pulled out from under the debris were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for immediate medical attention.
34 out of the 36 injured have since been discharged from the healthcare facility after being given preliminary treatment.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Governor Sindh Imran Ismail took notice of the incident and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives. The CM Murad has also summoned a report from Commissioner Karachi.
