Factory collapse in Pakistan kills 16 workers, injures 74

Lahore: At least 16 workers were killed and 74 others injured on Wednesday when an under construction bag manufacturing factory collapsed in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.

A rescue official said that dozens of workers were trapped and efforts were going to retrieve them.

Sixteen bodies of workers killed in the incident have been recovered while 74 injured have been rescued from the rubble, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was quoted as saying by the Geo news.

The building in Sunder Industrial Estate area of the city was used to manufacture shopping bags and expansion work was going on the building when it caved in.

The injured labourers have been shifted to hospitals where they are being given emergency medical treatment.

Lahore District Coordination Officer Muhammad Usman said the death toll may increase as around 150 workers were working on the building when it collapsed.

The cause of mishap was not known but the structure had developed faults during the massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake that shook Pakistan last month.

Sharif visited the site of collapse and asked rescue teams to expedite the work to recover the trapped workers. He also asked authorities to carry out a survey of unsafe buildings in the province.