Five dead, 10 injured as hotel balcony collapses in Chitral

PESHAWAR: At least five persons lost their lives and 10 others sustained serious wounds after a balcony of the multi-storey hotel collapsed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral on Thursday, ARY News reported.

The director-general of Rescue 1122, Dr Khateer Ahmad, confirmed that five people died and 10 wounded in the sorrowful incident. He added that the injured persons were being shifted to Peshawar after being taken to a local hospital for initial treatment.

The seriously wounded persons were being shifted to the provincial capital Peshawar through helicopter, he added.

Some reports claimed that the balcony of the multi-storey hotel’s third floor foundered when a total of 17 people including children were standing on the balcony for taking photographs. The affected families were reportedly belonging to Punjab’s Kasur.

It stated that two persons succumbed to wounds at District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital, increasing the death toll to five. The incident has reportedly taken place on Thursday morning in a hotel located near Chitral River.

KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the incident of balcony collapse of a local hotel in Chitral. He directed the district administration to provide best medical facilities to the wounded persons.

CM Khan said that the provincial government is standing alongside with the affected families.