Summary Rescuers and local residents rushed to the site and dug out 13 bodies.
KARACHI (Web Desk) - At least 13 people including three women and seven children were killed as a landslide hit shanties in a slum settlement in southern port city of Karachi early Tuesday morning.
The incident took place at around 2:00am (PST) when a mass of rocks and soil fell on a slum from a nearby hill, burying three camps of a laborers family in Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Karachi.
Rescuers and local residents rushed to the site and dug out 13 bodies including seven children and three women from the rubble.
Tearful relatives gathered at the scene, watching as the bodies were pulled from the rubble and wrapped in shrouds. One victim was a girl believed to be as young as six months, a rescue worker told AFP.
Rescue efforts are underway as it is feared that at least three more people are still trapped under the rubble. Rangers and policemen also arrived at the scene and participated in the rescue operation.
Rescue workers initially dug through the rubble with shovels and hoes in the hunt for survivors before switching to mechanical tools.
Commissioner of Karachi city, Shoaib Siddiqui, said that all the deceased people belonged to two families who established their camps at the site three days ago.
The ill-fated family came from Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan of eastern province of Punjab.
All the bodies have been shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) from where they will be sent to their home town.
Senior police officer Javed Jaskani said that a joint inquiry would be conducted by the police and the city administration to probe the cause of the tragedy, adding that no criminal elements were believed to be involved.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident. He has directed the concerned authorities to speed up relief efforts and ensure recovery of all the victims.
Prime Minister has also directed to provide special medical care to the injured and every possible help to the families of the deceased.
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