Islamabad, Sunday 21 December 2008: At least ten people were killed and 59 others were injured when a shopping mall collapsed after it suffered structural damage due to a 12-hour long blaze in Rawalpindi.

Six persons, most of them rescue workers, are still missing, National Disaster Management Authority has said.

Twelve seriously wounded people are under treatment in different hospitals, while the rest were discharged after first aid, NDMA said.

The fire has been brought under control; Rawalpindi Commissioner Haseeb Athar said.

Athar said that there were fears of some persons still buried under the debris and efforts were on to find out any one alive.

Around a dozen rescue workers and volunteers are feared trapped in the collapsed section of the building, the channel said, adding a massive rescue operation is now underway to retrieve those feared trapped in the debris.

Six-storey Gakhar plaza was city’s largest shopping centre housing over 350 stores selling garments, electronics, shoes and leather goods.

Army contingents moved in yesterday to join the massive rescue efforts at the site.

According to NDMA about 25 percent of the Plaza debris has been removed, while the work for clearing of the remaining debris could continue for about a week.
(Agency)