KARACHI, 2025-07-05
Search for survivors continues amid rising death toll.
16 confirmed dead after a five-story building collapsed in Karachi’s Lea Market area.
- Rescue teams are still working to find survivors.
- The building was previously declared uninhabitable.
- Poor construction standards are a recurring problem in Karachi.
- Conflicting reports initially caused confusion about the death toll.
The Karachi building collapse resulted in 16 confirmed deaths after a five-story building crumbled in the Lea Market area, and rescue operations continue into the night.
The five-story building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road, in the Lea Market area, had been marked as uninhabitable due to its weakened state, exacerbated by recent heavy rains. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza confirmed this detail.
Data from the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute Of Trauma (SMBBIT) at Civil Hospital Karachi indicates that 15 bodies were brought to the hospital, while one person died during treatment. Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed reported nine injuries, with six individuals discharged and one remaining in serious condition.
Rescue efforts face challenges.
“Rescue operation is still underway in Baghdadi, Lyari where the building had collapsed on Friday,” said DIG Raza.
The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) stated its Technical Committee for Dangerous Buildings had declared the site dangerous after an inspection in October 2022. They issued three ejectment notices to residents and requested K-Electric, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to disconnect utilities.
However, Imran Khaskheli, an owner and resident, denied receiving any notices. “Do you think we are out of our senses to stay in an unsafe building with our families?” he said, adding that he had noticed cracks in the building’s pillars early Friday morning. “I knocked on all the doors and asked families to leave immediately,” Khaskheli said, noting that around 40 families lived in the building, but many ignored his warnings.
Karachi experienced two similar incidents within 72 hours in September 2020, resulting in three deaths and over a dozen injuries. In June 2020, a five-story residential building collapse in Lyari killed 22 people. A March 2020 building collapse in Karachi’s Gulbahar area killed 27 people, while a 2011 incident in Lyari’s Musa Lane neighbourhood claimed 33 lives.
