KARACHI, PAKISTAN – At least 22 people, including women and children, were safely rescued on Monday after a structural portion of a building collapsed in Karachi’s densely populated Kharadar area, rescue officials confirmed.
According to Edhi Foundation and Rescue 1122, no injuries or casualties were reported in the incident, which occurred near M. Suleman Mithaiwala. The collapse involved a connecting bridge between two buildings on the sixth floor, which stranded several residents on the upper levels.
Speaking to the media, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassan Ul Haseeb Khan said the bridge was an old and deteriorating section of the building, and may have been further weakened by recent monsoon rains.
Authorities have since vacated the building and declared it uninhabitable due to the imminent threat of a complete collapse. “The structure could fall at any time,” Khan warned.
Rescue workers faced significant challenges due to the area’s congested layout, which made it difficult to deploy emergency equipment like snorkels or cranes. “This is an old part of the city, and the narrow alleys severely limit access to heavy machinery,” Khan explained.
In addition, some residents of neighboring buildings resisted evacuation orders, insisting that their own structures were still safe. “They questioned why they should leave, despite being in close proximity to a potentially collapsing building,” he added.
As soon as the incident was reported, Rescue 1122’s Central Command and Control dispatched an Urban Search and Rescue Team to the site, accompanied by an ambulance and a disaster response vehicle. Despite the large crowd that gathered and the tight space, rescue teams managed to safely evacuate all stranded individuals.
Officials said the operation was conducted with urgency and caution due to the precarious state of the building and the risk of further collapse.
The incident has once again highlighted the vulnerability of Karachi’s older neighborhoods, where aging infrastructure and inadequate maintenance pose ongoing safety risks—particularly during the monsoon season.
Municipal authorities have been urged to carry out urgent inspections of similar buildings in the area and to take proactive measures to prevent future disasters.
While no lives were lost in this incident, officials warned that the city’s aging and overcrowded urban infrastructure remains a ticking time bomb unless structural evaluations and safety reinforcements are prioritized.
