Six family members, including woman and three daughters killed Charsadda roof collapse

• Five others injured in the incident and shifted to hospital by Rescue 1122
• Five rescued from open drain in separate Korangi incident

PESHAWAR: Six people, including a woman and her three daughters, were killed and five others injured early Sunday when the dilapidated roof of a house collapsed in Shabqadar tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district, police said.

According to police, most of the victims were guests who had arrived to attend a wedding ceremony scheduled for Sunday evening at the ill-fated house.

“The incident occurred at around 4am when the dilapidated roof collapsed on the family and guests, prompting neighbours to rush to the site and pull out the bodies and the injured from the debris,” a police statement said.

Rescue 1122 teams later reached the scene, launched relief operations and shifted the injured and deceased to the hospital. The bodies and injured were taken to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Shabqadar, the statement added.

Roof collapses are largely attributed to substandard construction, use of poor-quality materials and lack of enforcement of building codes. Ageing structures, illegal extensions and heavy rains further weaken roofs, increasing the risk of such incidents.

In November last year, a similar roof collapse killed five members of a family, including four children, in the Pabbi area of Nowshera district.

Five family members rescued from drain

In a separate incident, five members of a family, including two children, were rescued on Sunday after falling into an open drain in Korangi’s Mehran Town area, according to Rescue 1122 officials.

A Rescue 1122 spokesperson said the Central Command and Control received the alert and immediately dispatched a water rescue team along with trained divers to the site.

“The rescue team carried out a rapid operation and rescued all five affected individuals, who were on their way to attend a wedding ceremony,” he said.

All rescued persons were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre by ambulance for medical treatment, the spokesperson said, adding that one of the women was reported to be in critical condition.

He explained that four people — two women and two children — were heading to board a bus when they crossed a rain drain near a mosque that was covered with slabs. The slabs failed to bear their weight, causing them to fall into the drain.

A male family member who rushed to the scene and jumped into the drain to rescue them was also swept away. The drain was around 50 to 100 feet deep, the spokesperson added.

Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad took notice of the incident and confirmed the rescue of all five family members. A statement from his office said an immediate rescue operation was launched on his directives and that all affected individuals were safely pulled out and shifted to hospital.

Murad said Rescue 1122 teams responded promptly and carried out the operation efficiently, adding that the protection of human lives remained the top priority of the city administration. He appreciated the coordination and cooperation of emergency response agencies.

Open drains across Pakistan persist due to poor urban planning, lack of maintenance and weak enforcement of safety standards. During rains, they become invisible hazards, leading to fatal falls, drownings and injuries, particularly among children.

Only a week ago, an eight-year-old boy drowned after falling into an uncovered manhole in Mehran Town. Earlier in December, a three-year-old boy, Ibrahim, also fell into an open manhole in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal, and his body was recovered more than 12 hours later.

According to the Edhi Foundation, 27 people lost their lives after falling into open manholes and ditches in Karachi last year.