The death toll from the collapse of a bag-manufacturing factory in Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital, has climbed to 45. Four additional bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the four-story polythene bag-making facility, which crumbled on Wednesday evening in the Sundar Industrial Estate area. Both civilian and army workers have been tirelessly involved in the rescue efforts to clear the debris.
As reported by Dawn, rescuers extracted the additional four bodies from the ruins of the Rajpoot Polyester polythene bag factory. The ongoing disaster has claimed the lives of 45 individuals. The rescue operation, involving soldiers and responders, is delicately cutting through steel and employing cranes to lift the building’s debris in the hope of finding survivors. Some survivors have mentioned that a considerable number of workers, including children, were present during the collapse.
Among the casualties is the owner of the factory, whose body has also been recovered. Rescue sources indicate that out of the 167 people initially trapped, 109 have been successfully rescued, most with minor injuries. Disturbingly, it has come to light that some laborers had staged a protest three days before the tragic incident, citing structural cracks observed after the October 26 earthquake.
In a glimmer of hope, rescuers managed to pull an 18-year-old man alive from the collapsed factory building after more than 50 hours. Unfortunately, concerns are growing for the fate of over two dozen individuals still believed to be trapped beneath the debris. The cause of the collapse remains unclear, although the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on October 26 has severely impacted several structures in the area.