Rescue teams in Karachi have concluded a three-day operation after a five-storey residential building collapsed in the city’s Lyari neighbourhood, with officials confirming that 27 bodies were recovered from the wreckage.

The collapse, which occurred around 10 am on Friday, has left a poor and tightly-knit community mourning, and raised fresh concerns over building safety in Pakistan’s largest city.

“All the bodies trapped under the debris have been recovered,” said Javed Nabi Khoso, the top government official in the district. He confirmed that the recovery phase is over, and investigations into the cause of the tragedy are ongoing.

The building came crashing down in Lyari, a densely populated area once infamous for gang-related violence. Residents described a chilling moment when the structure began to fail.

Many said they heard loud cracking noises just before it crumbled, sending people running in fear as dust and debris filled the air. Survivors and rescue teams rushed to help, digging through the collapsed structure in search of anyone still alive.

Among those who perished were 20 members of Pakistan’s Hindu minority community. “Most of the families living here were very poor,” said Sundeep Maheshwari, a local community activist. “They had nowhere else to go.”

Government authorities said the building had been declared structurally unsafe in earlier inspections, with eviction notices issued between 2022 and 2024.

But several residents and landlords told AFP they were unaware of the warnings. Some say they were never told the building posed a threat to their lives.

The collapse has sparked renewed attention to the condition of buildings in Karachi. In response, local authorities have begun inspecting and evacuating other high-risk structures across the city.

“We have evacuated five of more than 50 dangerously dilapidated buildings in the district since Saturday,” said Khoso. “The operation will continue until all unsafe buildings are cleared.”

Incidents like this are common in Pakistan, where construction practices often ignore safety standards, and building codes are weakly enforced.

Karachi, home to over 20 million people, faces deep challenges tied to rapid urban growth, unregulated construction, old infrastructure, and limited oversight.

This tragedy has once again exposed the urgent need for proper urban planning and stronger regulation of building safety in cities grappling with rapid expansion and growing poverty.