LAHORE: At least one individual was killed, while seven others were injured on Tuesday when the roof of an under-construction building collapsed near Multan’s Northern Bypass, Rescue 1122 said.
In a statement, the rescue service said the roof of an under-construction plaza had collapsed near the National College of Business Administration and Economics on Northern Bypass.
The agency said that so far, seven injured individuals had been rescued and shifted to Nishtar Hospital, adding that one person was killed in the collapse, whose body had also been shifted to the hospital.
It added that a Rescue 1122 team would remain at the site until the salvage operation was completed.
A spokesperson for Nishtar Hospital, citing hospital records, also confirmed that an individual had been brought dead.
A rescue official confirmed to Dawn that eight labourers were present on the site when the incident occurred. However, the presence of any other individual trapped under the debris could not be ruled out until the wreckage was removed and the site was cleared.
In an earlier statement, Rescue 1122 said its teams “reached the incident site within three minutes” of receiving information about the incident.
The statement said 10 vehicles had been actively engaged in the relief operations, comprising five ambulances, three rescue motorbikes, one rescue vehicle and one fire vehicle.
According to the Nishtar Hospital spokesperson, three persons suffered head injuries — whose nature and criticality were unknown — while the other three sustained minor injuries.
The spokesperson said doctors and paramedical staff had been placed on high alert in the emergency room, and the best medical facilities were being provided to the injured.
Building and roof collapses are common in Pakistan, often attributed to poor safety standards and the use of substandard construction materials.
A teacher and 30 students were killed when a school’s roof collapsed in Peshawar earlier this month.
In September, two men died in Pakpattan after the roof of their house collapsed during heavy rain and a windstorm.
On June 30, 14 children lost their lives when the roof of a private tuition centre collapsed in Lahore’s Kahna area.