Pakistan factory collapses, 18 dead

A factory outside Lahore in Pakistan collapsed on Wednesday. The reason for the collapse is unknown at present. At least 18 people have died, some 70 were injured and up to 150 were still trapped inside the rubble. Rescue workers are working relentlessly to find and free survivors.

According to various media reports, two stories of the four-storey building were operational and manufactured shopping bags. The rest of the building is said to still be under construction.

Building standards in Pakistan are reported to be substandard. This is yet another industrial disaster to befall the country. In 2012, 289 people were killed in a fire in a garment factory in Karachi. On the very same day, 25 died in a fire at a shoe factory in Lahore.

Some media claim that underage children were also working in the factory, although this has not been confirmed. Rescue workers, including engineers deployed by the army, are digging for survivors. “People have received phone calls from three or four people from inside the debris, so we cannot remove the rubble recklessly,” local senior government official Mohammed Usman told Reuters.