The death toll from the collapse of a five-storey residential building in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi has risen to 13 on Tuesday morning, police and rescue officials said.
Senior Superintendent of Police in District City, Karachi Muqaddas Haider told Xinhua that the death toll rose after the bodies of eight more residents were retrieved from the rubble of the building that collapsed on Sunday night in the densely populated Khadda market area of Karachi, the provincial capital of south Sindh province.
Multiple others including two policemen were injured in the incident and shifted to various hospitals in the city, the police official said.
Several more people are feared trapped in the debris as paramilitary force Rangers, rescue teams and a heavy contingent of police continue rescue and relief operations, according to rescue officials.
A contingent of civil engineers from the Pakistan army was also dispatched to the area to inspect the building. Sniffer dogs are being used to try to locate those trapped under the debris.
According to local media, the building was declared "dangerous and unstable" by the Sindh Building Control Authority more than two months ago and had more than 40 apartments. While most of the families have already vacated the building, some were still inside the building when it collapsed.
A nearby building also sustained partial damage, said city administration officials of Karachi, adding that the residents of the adjacent buildings have been evacuated after cracks emerged.
Meanwhile, Sindh information minister Nasir Hussain Shah has taken notice of the incident, saying that strict action would be taken if any negligence was found on the part of city administration.
He said there are over 300 buildings in the city that were old and extremely dilapidated, but some of their occupants had refused to leave despite being given notices, adding that talks were underway with these residents.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the tragedy and directed the concerned authorities to provide best medical treatment to the injured.