At least 13 workers were killed when a wall of a tunnel under construction under construction collapsed under a highway in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, officials said on Wednesday, as heavy monsoon rains battered the climate-vulnerable South Asian country.
Officials added that there are fears that many other workers, who were camping at the construction site, may be trapped under the rubble. Islamabad police spokesman Taqi Jawad said a rescue operation was underway to remove the rubble.
Local rescue official Farooq Butt said the wall collapsed after trenches dug at the construction site were flooded by rainwater.
The Meteorological Department said more rains are expected across Pakistan later this week.
The National Disaster Management Agency said on Tuesday that the total death toll from torrential rains and floods this year has reached 100 since the start of the rainy season.
Last year, more than 2,000 people died in Pakistan’s catastrophic floods and subsequent disease outbreak, when a third of the country was submerged, affecting 33 million people.
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