House collapse kills 11 of birthday-celebrating family incidents in Pak's Punjab
By M Zulqernain
At least 11 persons, including three children, of a family that was celebrating a birthday were buried alive when a three-story building collapsed following heavy rains in Lahore city of Pakistan, an official said Thursday, July 30.
Three brothers along with their wives and children were living in the three-storey house in Baghbanpura, a low-income thickly populated area of Lahore.
The birthday function was underway when the building, possibly weakened due to heavy monsoon showers, collapsed late on Wednesday night, according to Lahore Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ejaz.
“The family's sister and her children too had joined the birthday party when the building collapsed, leaving around 20 persons trapped under the rubble,” Ejaz said.
“Bodies of 11 people were recovered while six persons were taken out alive and shifted to a hospital,” he said.
According to Punjab Emergency Services Rescue 1122, among the dead were three women and three children.
The deputy commissioner further said recent heavy monsoon rains might have weakened the structure that subsequently collapsed.
The house collapse/roof collapse incidents were triggered possibly due to heavy rainfall that has battered Lahore and surrounding areas since the last few days.
The Monsoon Control Room data showed the Mughalpura station – which is in the neighbourhood of Baghbanpura and Harbanspura -- received 44.4 mm rainfall on Wednesday.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident and directed authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured, her office said.
In another incident, two children were killed and three other people injured when the roof of their home collapsed during rainfall on Jhang road in Faisalabad, 150-odd kms west of Lahore, on Wednesday, July 29 night.
State-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Rescue-1122 on Thursday to say that five family members were present in their dilapidated home in Talianwala, Jhang road, when the roof caved-in.
Two boys, a six-month-old and a five-year-old, were killed under the debris, the APP said.
The deaths due to roof-collapse/building collapse come weeks after 14 children died after the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in the densely populated Kahna Nau area of Lahore.
