Altaf Hamid Rao.
The Marriage Hall’s owner Ill-fated Nadeem Roopayal, lost his life in tragedy,
MIRPUR (AJK): (Parliament Times) In the continual rescue operations for over last 30 hours, one person – ill-fated Nadeem Roopayal, owner of the collapsed Roopayal marriage hall, was found dead besides the rescuing of 19 staffers and the laborers from the rubble of the mega 05-storey building of the marriage hall in adjoining town Chaksawari in Mirpur Azad Jammu Kashmir by Saturday afternoon, a senior official said.
The 05 storey building of Roopayal marriage-cum-banquet hall had caved-in in Chakswari town about 45 KM from Mirpur Divisional Headquarter of Azad Jammu Kashmir on Friday morning, leaving about two dozens of the persons trapped in the rubble.
Commissioner Mirpur division Ch. Muhammad Raqeeb told special AJK Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao Saturday afternoon that the body of unfortunate owner of the marriage hall Nadeem Roopayal was recovered from the rubble late Friday by the rescue teams of Pak Army and the civil 1122 rescuers.
The Commissioner said that 19 of the persons were rescued so far from the fully-collapsed mega structure of the marriage hall including four in seriously injured condition.
Raqeeb said that only two persons including Raheel Nadeem son of the owner late Nadeem Roopayal and a Waiter were still lying trapped in the rubble and rescue teams were fully engaged to recover both of them in safe condition.
He told that the seriously injured manager of the marriage hall, identified as Waqar, has been shifted to the trauma center at Quaid-e-Azam Hospital in Islamabad. Besides 03 other grievously injured persons were admitted in Mirpur Divisional HQ Teaching Hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger, he added.
To a question, the Div. Commissioner said that because of the Friday and that smart lock down there were lesser number of the persons in the marriage hall – who were engaged in renovation work of the building.
Meanwhile, the ill-fated owner of the collapsed marriage hall Nadeem Roopayal will be laid to rest in his ancestral grave yard at Roopayal village in Chaksawari Saturday night, according to the family sources.
The five-storey building complex of Roopayal Marriage cum Banquet hall had collapsed suddenly at about 11.30 a.m on Friday when the renovation work in the building was in progress.
Rescue teams belonging to Pak Army headed by Brig. Saeed and Brig. Irfan, teams of SDMA, State Disaster Management Authority, Rescue 1122, civil defense, local volunteers and police immediately rushed the scene of occurrence to join the relief works to rescue over 20 of the victims from the rubble.
The victims including owner of the ill-fated building – identified as Choudhry Nadeem Roopayal and his son Raheel Nadeem who were also trapped in the collapsed structure of the building.
The true cause of the building collapse could not be ascertained so far. Authorities are investigating.
Mirpur divisional and district administration officials led by Div. Commissioner Muhammad Raqeeb, DC Raja Tahir Mumtaz, SSP Mirpur Raja Irfan Saleem and others immediately rushed the scene of occurrence and supervised the rescue operations which were continuing till the last reports came in Saturday afternoon.