LAHORE, June 29: Up to 12 people were killed on Wednesday in roof collapse incidences as the monsoon unleashed its wrath in Lahore and other Punjab cities.

In Lahore, five people were killed and 25 others injured in five incidents, Rescue 1122 and police said.

In the first incident, three people were killed and 11 others injured when the roof a single-storey inn collapsed at a truck stand in Nain Sukh in Shahdara.

Witnesses said the victims, majority of them drivers and conductors, were asleep at the time of the incident. Rescuers with the help of public pulled the bodies of Muhammad Shabbir, Muhammad Akram, Ismael Ameen of Khushab, and Bashir Ahmad from the debris after efforts of several hours.The injured, who were rescued and shifted to Mayo and Mian Munshi hospitals, were identified as Shaukat, Masood, Akram, Mumtaz, Mahmood Husain, Akram, Muhammad Ali, Sadiq, Saleem, Shahid Iqbal and Ajmal.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad said rescue operations lasted for five hours as the rescuers faced difficulties in removing the debris amidst rain.

An auto mechanic told this reporter that he was asleep at a nearby CNG station when he woke up due to the screams of people. He said one of the side walls of the inn, where drivers usually stay overnights, fell which led to the roof and shed collapse,
trapping several people under the debris.

He said apparently the single-storey inn, whose roof was made of iron girder, collapsed due to week walls and overweight iron.

City SP Operations Dr Shahzad Asif said the area fell in the jurisdiction of Factory Area police of Sheikhupura and there were reports that they had lodged a report of the incident.

In another incident, the roof of a house caved in near Sootar Mandi of Manawan, leaving Muhammad Saleem dead under the debris.

Manawan SHO Muhammad Amin said Saleem died while his minor son was slightly injured. He said the roof was made of bamboos and mud.

Six members of a family, including two women, suffered injuries in another roof collapse on Abid Road in Walton. The injured were identified as Dawar, 13, Hamza, 18, Huzaifa, 19, Ayesha, 17, Farah, 38, and Shafqat, 27.

In another incident, three people were injured when their house caved in. The injured — Nasir Habib, Ali Gohar and Shabbir Bashir — were trapped in the debris in Ath Foot Road in Sabzazar and were shifted to Jinnah Hospital.

In Ghosia Park, four family members identified as Sajjad, 6, Nasser, 1, Aqsa, 8, and Asisha, 3, were also injured in a roof-collapse incident.

Rescue ambulances shifted the injured to Lahore General Hospital.

SAHIWAL: A woman and her three children were buried alive when the roof of their Dastigir Colony house caved in because of heavy rain and thunderstorm that hit the city and its adjoining areas early on Wednesday.

Reports said Mussarat Iqbal, 41, wife of Shahid Iqbal, along with their children Arsalan, 15, Rida, 13, and Burhan, 10, were
asleep when the roof of the three-marla house collapsed at around 9am.

Shahid, 46, a Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) employee, had left for his office when the incident happened.

Locals called Rescue 1122 personnel who arrived at the spot and started removing the debris to pluck out those trapped under it. However, none of the victims could survive the accident.

“It took rescuers more than three hours to retrieve the bodies from the debris,” Rescue 1122 Emergency Officer Baqir Husain said.

The mother and her children were asleep till 9am as the schools were closed because of summer vacation and there was no hurry to get up early, a neighbour told this correspondent.

The first spell of heavy monsoon rain, along with thunderstorm, hit the city around 5am.

According to Meteorology department Lahore region director Mehar Sahibzada, 33mm rain was recorded during the one-and-a-half-hour spell of heavy rain in the district.

SHEIKHUPURA: Three labourers were killed and 18 others sustained injuries when the roof of an auto workshop collapsed during heavy rains on Sharaqpur Road near Nain Sukh.

Labourers were carrying vegetables to a market in Lahore on tractors with trolleys when the torrential rain caught them forcing them to take shelter in a workshop.

After a while, the roof of the workshop collapsed on them leaving Bashir, Akram and Ismail dead while Asif, Riaz, Rehan, Salamat, Sadaqat and 13 other labourers received injuries.

They were taken to Mayo Hospital in Lahore where the condition of four of them was stated to be critical. Factory Area police are looking into the matter.