KARACHI - Rescue teams in Pakistan worked in searing heat and humidity on July 5 to recover residents trapped under the rubble of a building that collapsed, killing 16 people.

The authorities said the building had been declared unsafe and eviction notices were sent to occupants over three years, but landlords and some residents told AFP they had not received them.

Residents reported hearing cracking sounds shortly before the apartment block crumbled around 10am on July 4 in Karachi’s impoverished Lyari neighbourhood, which was once plagued by gang violence and considered one of the most dangerous areas in Pakistan.

The death toll stood at 16 on July 5, with 13 injured, according to Mr Summiaya Syed, a police surgeon for the provincial health department.

“My daughter is under the rubble,” 54-year-old Dev Raj told AFP at the scene.

“She was my beloved daughter. She was so sensitive but is under the burden of debris. She got married just six months ago.”

Rescue teams worked throughout the night, and families said that at least eight people were still believed to be trapped as temperatures climbed to 33 deg Celsius on the morning of July 5.

A senior district government official, Mr Javed Nabi Khoso, said that notices had been served in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to occupants.

“We don’t want to impose our orders by force. We work in phases and send them notices to leave the building. They didn’t take the notices seriously,” he told AFP.

But Mr Imran Khaskheli, an owner and resident watching the rescue operation on July 5, denied receiving notices.

“Do you think we are out of our senses to stay in an unsafe building with our families?“ he said.

He told AFP he had seen cracks in the pillars of the building early on the morning of July 4.

“I knocked on all the doors an...