A burning shopping centre collapsed in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi today, killing five people and trapping about 18, a city official said.
The four-storey centre housing about 400 shops in one of the city's main commercial areas caught fire on Friday night and burned for hours. The blaze was nearly under control when part of the building collapsed.
"According to our information, five people have been killed and some 18 others, including four rescuers, are trapped under the debris," city official Haseeb Athar told reporters.
Police said seven people had been pulled alive from the rubble.
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The cause of the fire was not known but stocks of garments and leather goods in many of the shops were believed to have fuelled the blaze.
Reuters