At least 15 labourers were injured and dozens of others trapped after three-storey wedding hall building collapsed during renovation in Pakistan occupied Kashmir’s Mirpur district, according to an officials.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur, Raja Tahir Mumtaz said that the labourers were renovating the marriage hall when it came crashing down on Friday, pinning them beneath falling slabs of concrete.
More than 40 people mostly labourers are feared to still be trapped inside the collapsed building including the owner and manager of the marriage hall, the official further said.
“A search and rescue operation is still underway”, it added.
There was not any wedding event at the building as it was closed for all kinds of ceremonies as part of the government’s measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mumtaz added.
Pakistani army troops and helicopters have also been sent to the area to help with the rescue activities.
Police told local media that the reason behind the collapse is not clear yet.
In June, at least 22 people were killed and six others injured after a building collapsed in Karachi even as rescue teams raced against the clock to look for survivors.
In March, 24 people were killed due to the collapse of another building in Karachi, where authorities have declared around 150 structures, including both housing and commercial premises, as unsafe.
In 2015, a four-storey factory in Punjab province of Pakistan had collapsed that left 53 people dead.
In 2012, at least 45 people were killed and 103 injured in the eastern city of Lahore, after the collapse of an industrial plant.
Building collapses are relatively common in Pakistan, mainly due to the poor state of the structures, explosions in gas cylinders or installations and sometimes also due to heavy rains.