LAHORE: Twelve people died while several others were injured in roof and wall collapse incidents in parts of Punjab on Thursday.

In Lahore’s Harbanspura, four people died and five others were injured, one of them critically, when a wall and a roof of two houses collapsed due to overnight rain. The incident occurred in Ibrahim Colony where the wall of Habib’s house caved in and the structure fell on the roof of his immediate neighbor’s home.

A police official said nine members of both families got trapped under the huge structure of the two houses. The Rescue 1122 teams were called which launched the operation, he said, adding that they found some difficulties to rescue trapped people due to the continued spell of rain.

However, the police official said, the teams could only rescue five injured people and rushed them to the nearby hospitals. They retrieved dead bodies of four others from the heavy structure and they were later identified as Sabir Ali (31), Azam (22), Kamran (18) and Aslam.

Two women and a girl were among the injured and the police official said one of them was said to be in critical condition.

GUJRAT: Five members of a family of a seminary teacher were killed when the roof of their house caved in due to the downpour in Phalia city of Mandi Bahauddin.

Qari Muhammad Aslam had gone to the religious seminary Jamia Farooqia to lead the Fajr prayers when the roof of his house caved in which resulted in the death of five members of his family. His wife and children Aseeram, 10, Aiqa, 8, Muhammad, 3, and one-year-old Hashir died on the spot.

The Rescue 1122 and police teams recovered the dead bodies from the debris and shifted the bodies to their ancestral village Ragh.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken notice of the incident and sought report from the Mandi Bahauddin deputy commissioner.

Meanwhile, Phalia Assistant Commissioner Sajid Muneer Kalyar also inspected the building of affected seminary and immediately sealed it.

CHINIOT: A man died and several people were injured in roof collapse incidents.

Five-year-old Tayyab was buried alive when the roof of their house at Chak 222 JB Ghorianwala caved in. His brother Shoaib was injured.

In another incident, the roof of a house caved in at Thatta Kanjuan village in which Usman, his father Muhammad Ali and another person Inam Elahi were injured.

Four people were injured in another such incident at Chamra Morh, Jhang Road.

SHEIKHUPURA: Two family members died while seven others were injured when the roof of their house caved in.

Nine members of a family were injured when the roofs of two rooms collapsed. Sadaf Bibi and her son Babeel, 8, died on the spot while seven others were injured and hospitalised.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2020