Rescue crews yesterday resumed digging through the rubble of a collapsed factory in Pakistan as officials said they expected to find at least two dozen more bodies, with the death toll standing at 23.
More than 100 survivors have already been pulled from the debris of the four-story Rajput Polyester polythene bag factory near the Punjab provincial capital of Lahore after it came crashing down on Wednesday evening, trapping dozens of people inside.
However, hopes were fading for anyone left alive as rescuers scrabbled through the debris.
Photo: AFP
“We have recovered up to 23 dead bodies and more than 100 injured so far. There are less chances of finding more injured under the rubble, but we are looking for dead bodies,” said Arshad Zia, head of the rescue services in Punjab.
Troops and rescuers were preparing to clear the rubble in front of the factory and move toward the rear of the building, where they feared they would discover more victims.
“We expect to find at least 25 more dead bodies in that part of the factory,” Zia said.
It was unclear how many people were in the building when it collapsed or how many — dead or alive — could still be trapped, but officials have said at least 150 people were in the factory when it came down.
Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has said the factory could have suffered structural damage in an Oct. 26 earthquake which killed almost 400 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Punjab Minister for Labour and Human Resource Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said that an inquiry into the collapse “is being conducted and we will probe all angles,” with a report to be submitted within two weeks.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in