Lahore: Factory death toll reaches 16

Lahore: Factory death toll reaches 16

Rescuers rush through the wreckage of a factory, which collapsed in Lahore on Tuesday, to search for survivors as the death toll has reached 16.

Rescuers and the volunteers kept working whole night to dig out survivors trapped beneath the concrete slabs. The factory crashed down was probably the consequence of a boiler and gas cylinder explosion.

Workers and the helpers employed everything they could to save the lives of women and children, who are stuck under the rubble. The factory was used to make veterinary medicines and was located in the crammed area of Multan Road.

A representative of the emergency services told AFP that, “Rescue officials pulled out 13 injured people alive from under the rubble. We are digging through the rubble very carefully to save as many people as possible, who may still be trapped.”

Shortly after the incident, the site was crowded by the relatives of factory workers, who kept pushing rescuers to deepen the search. The Rescue official confirmed that death toll has reached 16, which includes 10 women, three girls, two boys and one unknown
man and it is expected to increase.

The incident of the 25-year-old Orient Labs (Private) Limited factory has raised questions on the meagre safety measures among Pakistani constructers while the presence of boys has hoisted concerns about the child labour.

Last night, after saving a 10-year-old boy, rescue worker Mohammad Asif told AFP that, “We peeped through a hole drilled in one of the concrete slabs and saw a boy. He talked to us, we pulled him out,”

“He had no serious injuries but he fainted in shock after seeing the scene,” he added.

Father of the 10-year-old Asad, Mohammad Akram told that after the building collapsed, he ran towards the site, but his son was rescued, however, his nephew is still trapped under the debris.

“I came here rushing and weeping but luckily my son has been rescued. He is injured and alive. But my 12-year old nephew is still missing,” he said.

“It’s a big disaster. It is too early to say when we’ll finish. We want to recover alive as many people as possible,” said rescue worker Ahmed Raza.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=11957

Posted by Mursil Mehmood Butt on Feb 7 2012. Filed under Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry