In a heartbreaking incident, a residential building came crashing down in Karachi’s Lyari area on Friday, leaving at least seven people dead and several others injured. The tragedy struck the Baghdadi locality, where families now find themselves in shock and grief.
Rescue teams rushed to the site as news of the collapse spread. Locals were the first to begin pulling survivors from the rubble with their bare hands before machinery could make its way through the narrow, congested streets. Rescue officials confirmed that among those pulled from the debris, one woman tragically lost her life after being brought to the hospital in critical condition.
Authorities fear that more people are still trapped under the debris. The affected structure, reportedly over 30 years old, had housed six families. Eyewitnesses say that between 25 to 30 people were believed to be inside at the time of the collapse.
At the Civil Hospital Trauma Centre, eight injured individuals were brought in, with one woman succumbing to her injuries shortly after arrival. Others are being treated for minor wounds.
The Deputy Commissioner of Karachi South confirmed the building had been declared unsafe long ago by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), which says several notices had been issued. However, local residents say they never received any such warnings and were unaware of the looming danger.
To prevent further tragedy, two adjacent buildings have been evacuated — one of them a seven-storey structure whose staircase also collapsed. Complicating rescue efforts were blocked roads and a sudden suspension of mobile phone signals in the area.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the lives lost and called for urgent medical care for the injured. He also emphasized the need for a long-term safety plan to prevent similar disasters.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also visited the site, calling for swift action and accountability. Wahab revealed that more than 430 dangerous buildings exist in Karachi’s old city zones alone, and urged a balance between safety enforcement and the realities of people struggling to find alternate housing.
A high-level inquiry committee has been formed to determine what went wrong, and several officials from the SBCA have already been suspended as the investigation begins.
This tragic event is a grim reminder of the fragile state of many old structures in Karachi — and the price paid when warnings go unheard or unseen.
