Apartment block collapses 40 minutes after it was evacuated
Terrifying moment six-storey apartment block in Karachi collapses ’40 minutes’ after it was evacuated when cracks were spotted in the building
- Al-Ramzan Tower in Karachi, Pakistan, was evacuated on Monday 30 December
- Onlookers stare up at the building and yell seconds before it crumbles to ground
- Authorities evacuated tower ’40 minutes’ after cracks reported in the walls
This is the moment a six-storey apartment block crumbled to the ground sending residents fleeing in terror.
The Al-Ramzan Tower in Karachi, Pakistan, was evacuated on Monday 30 December ’40 minutes’ after it was reported cracks had appeared in the walls.
Footage shows people staring up at the building and yelling, seconds before it collapses to the ground.
The six-storey Al-Ramzan Tower in Karachi, Pakistan seconds before it crumbled to the ground (left). Onlookers flee in terror as the tower crumbles to the ground (right)
Suddenly the apartment block folds in on itself causing plumes of smoke to billow out between the narrow streets.
The clouds of dust make their way through the houses as onlookers rush from the dust that has flooded the area.
Authorities ensured that all residents were evacuated from the block and officers cornered off the building following reports that the building had tilted and cracks had formed.
Residents watch the terrifying tower collapse in on itself (left). Clouds of smoke and dust floods the narrow street (right)
A police officer told Dawn: ‘Forty minutes later the building collapsed but no one was injured.’
The building housed 21 apartments and also had two shops.
It was constructed in violation of the Sindh Building Control Authority rules.
The plans were approved in 1987 for a one-storey block however five more floors were added illegally, according to Samaa.
The tower was deemed illegal in 1991 and the owner had taken a stay order on its demolition, official documents revealed.
Rescue teams reached the site and cleared the debris in an effort to clear the rubble.
An inquiry of the construction was also directed to the SBHA and commissioner.
A fire had reportedly broke out in the building in 2014 and authorities are in the process of tracing the builder responsible.
No one was injured in the incident but Special Assistant Waqar Mehdi said strict action would be taken against those who were accountable for the unfit building.
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