Schools to undergo safety audit

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday ordered an immediate safety audit of school buildings situated in densely populated areas across the province after a roof collapse at a summer camp operating in a private school in Baghbanpura left an eight-year-old boy dead and four people injured.

According to Rescue 1122, the incident took place near Women College Road during construction activity on the top floor of a three-storey building. A section of the under-construction structure collapsed, sending debris onto the ground floor and the adjoining street.

Rescue teams recovered the body of eight-year-old Abdullah, son of Amjad Butt, from under the rubble and handed it over to his family after legal formalities were completed. Four injured men — Nadeem, 35, Shakeel, 38, Faiz Ahmad, 32, and Wasim, 42 — were pulled from the debris, given first aid and shifted to hospital.

The rescue operation was launched after an emergency call and involved seven vehicles and 25 rescuers. Officials said the search continued for some time amid reports that another person could also have been trapped beneath the debris.

Expressing grief over the child’s death and condoling with the bereaved family, the chief minister sought a report on the incident from the Lahore commissioner and the director general of Rescue 1122. She also praised Rescue 1122 for rescuing more than 10 children from the debris.

Maryam Nawaz directed authorities to ensure the best available treatment for the injured children and others without delay. She also ordered strict legal action against those responsible for negligence or poor construction, in addition to the province-wide audit of school buildings in congested localities.

The provincial rescue service said rain and storms over the previous 24 hours had also caused two deaths and nine injuries in incidents involving collapsed walls, roofs and billboards in Attock, Khushab, Sargodha and Sheikhupura.

Kahna survivors recount roof collapse

Separately, two days after the roof collapse at a tuition centre in Kahna that killed 14 children, two sisters who survived the incident were still struggling with the trauma of seeing cousins and classmates die within moments.

Almas Fatima, 11, a fifth-grade student, and her nine-year-old sister Anfal, a grade-three student, were among the children injured in the collapse. The two were among five children from the same family who had gone to attend the tuition class. While they survived, their cousins Dua Fatima and Ghulam Nabi were among those who lost their lives.

Recalling what happened shortly before the collapse, Almas said the children were in class when a brick suddenly fell from the ceiling. According to her account, the teacher tried to reassure the students, but moments later the entire roof caved in, burying the children under rubble amid dust and cries for help.