Woman pulled from rubble after 31 hours in Pakistan factory collapse (VIDEO)
Pakistani rescue workers carry an elderly survivor on a stretcher during continued search for victims from the debris of a collapsed building in Lahore on February 7, 2012. Pakistani rescuers on February 7 plucked survivors from the rubble of a collapsed factory in Lahore, where another 10 people are still buried under the debris and the death toll rose to 19. The three-storey building used to manufacture veterinary medicines caved in from a probable boiler and a gas cylinder explosion at the premises in the congested Multan Road area of Pakistan’s second largest city on February 6. AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALI
A 65-year-old woman was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Pakistan after being trapped for 31 hours, reported the Associated Press.
Rescue workers reportedly heard Saleha Bibi screaming, and it took them hours to get her out of the rubble, said the AP. She had managed to find refuge underneath a machine when the roof collapsed on the factory, and remained largely unharmed.
The death toll in the incident has risen to 18 since yesterday, including 10 women and three children, the latest figures from the AP.
More on GlobalPost: Pakistan factory collapses, killing four and trapping dozens
Reuters reported that the cause of the collapse was a gas explosion. The rescue workers were in communication with at least six or seven people and 13 had already been rescued from the rubble.
The BBC reported that rescue efforts were hampered by the narrow streets leading up to the factory, which was illegally manufacturing veterinary medicine. A local trade union leader told the BBC that some of the workers were children below the age of 16, employed to pack medicines.
The police have registered a criminal case against the owners, according to the BBC, since the factory was operating illegally.
More on GlobalPost: Pakistan: Taliban kill seven soldiers
Here is video of the rescue operation, courtesy of The Guardian:
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