KARACHI: Two women were killed and their children sustained injuries when the roof of another multi-storey building collapsed in Lyari on Thursday, officials said.

South DIG Syed Asad Raza said that the top (sixth) floor of a buildingnamed`GhaniMansion`, located in Khadda Market, collapsed onto the fifth floor.

He said the bodies of two women, as well as three girls, were retrieved from under the rubble and shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi. The senior officer added that the deceased women were sisters, while the injured were their daughters.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed the deaths of two women. They were identified as Hurmat Rafiq, 40, and Hamida Rizwan, 45. The three injured were Hira Rafiq, 15, Javeria Rafiq, 12, and Sakina Rehman. Sakina`s condition was described as critical.

Rescue 1122 spokesman Hassaan U1 Haseeb Khan said it was a dilapidated six-storey building. Labourers were working on the rooftop of the sixth floor when it collapsed. He said that after receiving information about the incident, one ambulance and one disasterresponse vehicle were dispatched for rescue operation.

Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani visited the site and told reporters initial reports suggested the homeowner was getting repair work done on the roof, which increased the load and led to the collapse.

He gathered detailed information from affected residents and officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), and instructed authorities to immediately relocate displaced residents to nearby community halls, marquees, public halls, or residential hotels.He termed the incident deeply unfortunate, and said that although the building was 40 to 50 years old, it was not on the official list of dangerous structures.

New survey underway Mr Ghani announced that committees have been formed at the district level to re-survey 740 buildings declared dangerous across Karachi and the rest of the province. These committees will comprise government officials as well as representatives of private institutions.

He said that the chief minister, chief secretary and he himself had been working daily to rehabilitate those peopleaffected by unsafe buildings.

The minister said that on CM`s directive, the list of unsafe buildings is being reviewed after receiving complaints that some properties listed as dangerous could actually be made habitable after repairs. He suspected that personal interests might be influencing some of these classifications.

`To ensure transparency, we have formed district-level commit tees comprising both government officials and private sector representatives,` he said.

`Earlier today, a follow-up meeting was held under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to discuss the urgent rehabilitation of affected people.

He admitted that the govern-ment currently lacks immediate housing options andis therefore offering temporary accommodation in schools, community halls and hotels. `We are facing some resistance in vacating such buildings,` he said. `I urge residents tobear theinconvenience to save their lives. A little hardship now can prevent a deadly tragedy later.

Referring to the earlier Lyari Baghdadi tragedy, the minister acknowledged government shortcomings. `We admit our failure to prevent illegal construction under the current SBCA laws. We are working on amending the law to enable more effective action,` he said.

He added that new legislation will treat builders, brokers and even buyers involved in illegalconstruction as criminals, allowing for prosecution under criminal law. `Following the Baghdadi tragedy, senior SBCA officials were arrested. Our objective is to uphold the rule of law,` he shared.

Roof of Mehmoodabad building also collapses Three people were injured when the roof of a building collapsed in Mehmoodabad on Thursday.

The Rescue-1122 spokesperson said that the roof of the building collapsed in Manzoor Colony. As a result, three persons sustained minor injuries.

One disaster response vehicle along with one ambulance took partin the rescue operation,he added.