Karachi: Baby pulled out alive from rubble as building collapse leaves 14 dead

A three-month-old baby girl was miraculously rescued alive from the rubble after a five-storey residential building collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari Baghdadi area on Friday. The collapse claimed at least 14 lives and left eight others injured, including four women and a child.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, three women and a 7-year-old child are among the deceased. The building had approval for only ground plus two floors, but illegally extended to five stories, with three units built per floor.

Despite being declared unsafe three years ago, the building continued to be inhabited due to a lack of alternative housing and limited enforcement action. Locals said six families were living in the structure at the time of the collapse.

Rescue teams, assisted by heavy machinery, continue operations to search for more survivors. The collapse also damaged the staircase of a nearby seven-storey building, though everyone inside was safely evacuated.

Read: Saeed Ghani admits government, SBCA failure in Lyari building collapse

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani visited the scene. Ghani claimed that final evacuation notices were issued as recently as June 2, but residents and victims disputed this, saying no warning was given.

Police had to resort to baton-charging the crowd that gathered near the debris as emotions ran high.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took immediate notice of the incident and ordered a high-level inquiry. Several SBCA (Sindh Building Control Authority) officers have been suspended, and the CM has demanded a detailed list of all unsafe buildings across the city.