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Rescuers
carry a survivor from the rubble of a collapsed factory on the outskirts of
Lahore, on November 4, 2015 ©Arif Ali (AFP)
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Rescue crews resumed
digging through the rubble of a collapsed factory in Pakistan Friday 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-storey 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.
But
hopes were fading for anyone left alive as rescuers scrabbled through the
debris.
"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," Arshad Zia, head of rescue services in Punjab, told AFP.
AFP report continues:
Soldiers
and rescuers were preparing to clear the rubble in front of the factory and
move towards the rear of the building where they fear they will 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 -- may still be trapped, but officials have said at least 150
people were in the factory when it came down.
Punjab
chief minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the factory may have suffered structural
damage in the October 26 quake which killed almost 400 people across Pakistan
and Afghanistan.
Provincial
labour minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said that an enquiry into the collapse
"is being conducted and we will probe all angles", with a report to
be submitted within two weeks.
At least 24 people died
last year when a mosque collapsed in the same city, while more than 200 people
lost their lives, mostly due to collapsed roofs, following torrential rain and
flooding in 2014.
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