Death toll from Pakistan's Lahore factory collapse rises to 29

Death toll from the collapse of a factory in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore has been risen to 29 on Thursday, local media and officials said.

Rescue teams have pulled out over 100 injured people from the rubble of the factory which collapsed on Monday in Sundar Industrial Estate area of Lahore, the capital city of the country's east Punjab province.

Deputy Commissioner Officer Lahore Muhammad Usman said that over 150 workers were inside the Rajput Polyester Factory when it collapsed.

He said that some construction work was going on at the fourth floor of the building which collapsed, razing the other three floors to the ground too.

All the injured have been shifted to hospitals where the majority of them were found with broken legs and arms.

The provincial government has imposed a state of emergency in all public hospitals in the city.

The official said the actual number of casualties will be ascertained once the rescue operation is completed.

Reason behind the accident is not known yet, but an injured factory worker said the owner was not allowed by the officials to construct the fourth storey, but despite all warnings he started work on it.

Shahbaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab province, said that factory might have suffered damage in the 8.1-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Oct. 26.

Owner of the factory is reportedly also among the people who are still trapped under the rubble.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over casualties in the incident and directed the officials to expedite rescue efforts.

The teams of Pakistan army's engineering core and Urban Search Rescue have already reached the site and started to remove the debris to pull out the trapped people. Enditem