Lahore: Ten people, including three women and
two children, were killed and about 50 others feared trapped
in rubble in Pakistan`s Punjab province after a building in a
residential area here collapsed following a boiler explosion
on Monday, officials said.
Rescue officials said 10 bodies had been pulled out of
the debris of the three-storey building at Multan Road in the
provincial capital Lahore that housed a factory making
veterinary medicines.
Some 50 people, including women and children, were still
trapped inside, said Farooq Ahmed, an official of the
state-run Rescue 1122 service.
Ahmed said rescue workers had pulled 14 people out of the
rubble and shifted them to Jinnah Hospital.
He said 120 officials of the rescue service and a large
number of personnel from the district administration were
taking part in the rescue operation.
"We are not sure how many we will manage to rescue alive.
As time passes, we fear there will be more casualties," Ahmed
said.
Lahore district administration chief Ahad Cheema said the
factory owned by Orient Private Limited was sealed sometime
ago and a case against the firm was pending in court.
"We will investigate how the firm managed to make the
factory functional after it was sealed," he said.
Cheema further said: "We will also look into the
violation of child labour laws as a large number of children
were working in the factory."
Officials said a 12-year-old boy was among the dead.
Police officials said they had raided the homes of the
owners of the company - Sheikh Zafar and Sheikh Zaheer - but
they had fled with their families.
PTI
