Islamabad : At least 10 people were killed and seven injured while several others were trapped when the roof of a mosque collapsed in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore Tuesday afternoon, media reported.
Over 30 people were praying inside the mosque when its roof collapsed in Daroghawala area of Lahore, capital of the country’s Punjab province, Xinhua reported citing Express TV.
Rescue teams and residents were removing the debris of the collapsed mosque to rescue the trapped people.
The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital where several of them were said to be in critical condition.
Rescue work was moving at a slow pace and heavy machinery could not be transported to the site due to narrow streets.
Taking note of the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif directed the authorities to expedite relief efforts.
Residents said the roof of the mosque collapsed due to heavy rains in the city over the last one week.
Dozens of people have died because of roof collapse incidents in Punjab as a result of continuous heavy rain.
In a press release, the National Disaster Management Authority said Tuesday that over 203 people were killed and hundreds of others injured in rain-triggered accidents in the country in the recent spate of monsoon rains.