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(THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS)A four-storeyed factory producing plastic bags collapsed on Wednesday evening, killing at least 23 labourers and trapping dozens of workers under the rubble at the Sundar Industrial Estate near Lahore.
Rescue efforts were underway on Thursday to recover dozens of workers still trapped under the debris of the collapsed factory, which also claimed the life of the owner.
According to latest reports, the bodies of four more victims were found during the ongoing rescue operation, raising the death toll to 23.
"We can see the bodies of four more victims under the rubble," said the district coordination officer (DCO) in Lahore, confirming the latest deaths.
The official said that rescue workers had decided not to use heavy machinery due to fears of causing further damage to the collapsed structure and risking the lives of survivors still trapped under the rubble.
No part of the four-storey building remained standing after the disaster, and hundreds of rescue workers were carefully picking through piles of concrete and bricks to find survivors.
Officials said over 80 injured have been rescued, several of whom were in critical condition and were taken to hospitals for medical treatment.
It was unclear how many people were in the building when it collapsed or how many – dead or alive – may still be trapped. Officials have put the total number of those involved at around 150-200.
Several survivors trapped in the rubble of the factory pleaded for help with rescue services on their mobile phones.
"Several trapped survivors have contacted us earlier from under the rubble. We are unable to contact them now because their mobile phone batteries may have died," Brigadier (retd) Dr Arshad Zia, the director-general of the Rescue 1122 force, told Geo News.
Zia said that rescue workers were busy trying to clear the first floor of the building and that the search and rescue operation may continue for another day.
He said that soldiers and rescuers were carefully cutting through steel and using cranes to lift the debris of the building to rescue the survivors.
Having 702 industrial land plots spread over 1,179 acres, the Sundar Industrial Estate actually comprises of 1,750 acres of land located 45 kilometres from the centre of Lahore on the Sundar-Raiwind Road.
It was not clear what caused the collapse of the four-storey building at the industrial estate, though construction work had been going on there.
The factory may have suffered structural damage in the October 26 quake, which killed almost 400 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan, Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif said.
"I have heard about the earthquake affecting the building, but according to labourers the owner continued to build an extension," he told reporters.
Heavy machinery from a nearby Bahria Town construction operation was at the site of the incident to help with the rescue and relief operations. Medicines and water bottles were being passed to those trapped under the rubble.
According to reports, the four-storey building had many workers sleeping on the third floor when the building collapsed.
The army said it was deploying specialist search teams and engineers to help the rescue effort.
Army teams were busy on the scene to lead the rescue operation at the site about 45 kilometers away from the main city.
Labourers working in the area told Geo News that the factory had also employed several children, who also resided at the factory building. Several children were also trapped under the rubble, they said.
Due to the large number of people gathered at the site rescue efforts were facing hurdles and army personnel have appealed to those standing by to clear the area to allow rescue efforts to move forward.
Sources told Geo News that the factory had been declared dangerous and while the owner had asked the workers to vacate the area they had sought some time to relocate.
It has also been reported by a Geo News reporter on site that the owner had arrived at the factory to ask the workers to leave when the incident happened and that he was killed in the incident while one of his sons was trapped under the rubble.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing of the Pakistan Army said that engineers as well as urban search and rescue teams were taking part in the rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Lahore. Additionally Special Forces were also been dispatched from Rawalpindi by air for Lahore.
Following the incident, civilian rescue services reached the site of the incident with some delay, due to the site of the incident being far from the main city.
Pakistan's construction sector suffers from poor oversight and developers frequently flout building codes.
At least 24 people died last year when a mosque collapsed in the same city, while more than 200 people lost their lives, mostly due to collapsed roofs, following torrential rain and flooding in 2014. In September 2012, 289 people burned to death in a fire at a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi. On the same day, a fire at a shoe factory in Lahore killed 25.
