One worker killed, six injured as Multan plaza roof collapses

At least one worker was killed and six others were injured when the roof of an under-construction commercial plaza collapsed near the National College of Business Administration and Economics on Multan's Northern Bypass on Tuesday, Rescue 1122 said.

The rescue service said eight labourers had been trapped under the rubble. Its teams recovered seven of them, one dead and six injured, and were still searching for the eighth worker, Minute Mirror reported. Dawn and the Express Tribune, citing Rescue 1122, put the toll at one dead and six rescued.

The worker killed was identified as 38-year-old Rashid, according to Minute Mirror, which named the injured as Qadeer, Tauqeer, Hafeez, Shahzad, Amir and Abdullah. Rescue officials said four of the injured had suffered serious head injuries and were in critical condition. All the injured were taken to Nishtar Hospital.

Eyewitnesses told rescue officials that between 10 and 15 labourers were working at the site when the roof gave way. Rescue 1122 sent 10 emergency vehicles, including five ambulances, three rescue motorcycles, a rescue vehicle and a fire vehicle. A large police contingent also reached the site to assist the operation.

Officials said the cause of the collapse had not been determined.

The incident has renewed concern about construction standards and worker safety at building sites across the country. On 15 October, at least 30 children and a female teacher were killed and more than 50 injured when the roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar; police registered a case against the school's owners, shareholders and contractor. In June, 14 children died and eight were injured when the roof of a tuition centre collapsed in Lahore's Kahna area, most of those killed aged between five and nine. Police registered a case against the property owners and a construction worker under Pakistan Penal Code provisions covering death and injury caused by negligence.