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Death toll from Pakistan's factory collapse rises to 49

Xinhua, November 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Death toll from the collapse of a factory in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore has risen to 49 as rescuers continued to retrieve more bodies on the fourth day, officials said Saturday.

District Coordination Officer of Lahore, Muhamad Usman, said the rescue teams have pulled out 15 more bodies including the owner of the factory and a couple of injured during the last 24 hours.

The incident took place Wednesday when laborers were busy in construction work at the fourth storey of the building of the factory in the Sundar Industrial State on the outskirts of Lahore, provincial capital of the country's eastern province of Punjab.

No part of the factory, including its residential section, remained intact after the disaster.

Chief Minister of the province, Shahbaz Shairf, said the factory was allowed to build only two stories, but the owner had built three and was building fourth without any permission from the concerned building department.

According to injured workers, around 200 people were present in the building of the Rajput Polyester Factory, which manufactured polythene shopping bags.

Pakistan army's engineering core team has been leading the rescue operation and they are cutting through steel and using cranes and heavy machinery.

More than 400 rescue workers, with less hope to get any survivor, are taking part in the operation and could clear only two top floors of the factory so far and pulled out 109 injured people.

Several worried families of those who are still missing are waiting near the site as the rescue teams continued their operation.

Earlier on Friday, rescuers pulled out an injured man named Shahid from the rubble, 50 hours after the factory collapsed.

According to local media reports, his relatives had already buried another man mistakenly because of his body resemblance as the crushed face was not recognizable.

Shahid is under treatment at a hospital because of his mental disturbance. Doctor said he has lost his memory partially due to the shock and he will take some time to recover.

Officials said the rescue and search operation is proceeding slowly because they are searching for lives and they don't want to hurt anybody. Enditem