Pakistan army soldiers take part in rescue work following the collapse of a building in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, November 4, 2015.
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Local TV channels showed footages of rescue workers scooping through the mounds of rubble to rescue people who are trapped under it. Officials said they are not sure how many workers were there when the building came down on them.
Global union IndustriALL also says that workers claim they were being paid less than the minimum wage of 13,000 rupees a month (or $122) and were working 12-hour shifts.
The collapse occurred at the four-storey Rajput Polyester polythene bag factory in the Sundar industrial estate, around 45 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Lahore’s city centre.
The army meanwhile announced it was deploying specialist search teams and engineers to the factory.
The cause of the collapse is still unknown.
In September a year ago at least 24 people were killed in Lahore when the roof of a mosque collapsed.
Earlier, officials estimated 150 people had been in the building when it collapsed.
In a statement, one of the survivors, Muhammad Ramzan, 22, who witnessed the crack before the collapse said “Suddenly, I saw cracks appearing in the pillars”.
He said rescuers were using audio and video technology during the search operation.
Rescue workers told CNN that more than 100 people were trapped in the rubble.
Several survivors trapped in the rubble of the factory pleaded for help with rescue services on their mobile phones.
Geo News was told by sources the factory had been declared unsafe and while the owner had asked the workers to vacate the place they’d sought time to relocate.
But reports suggest the building was still under construction and may have suffered damage in last week’s natural disaster that hit Afghanistan and Pakistan, leaving a few 390 people dead.
Officials confirmed the survivors were taken to government hospitals, which were placed in a state of emergency.
The reason behind the accident was 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 to work on it this morning.
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Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief after the collapse and directed the Punjab provincial government to beef up its rescue efforts.
