Karachi - A newly-build overpass collapsed in Pakistan`s southern port city of Karachi on Saturday, tipping cars onto a street below and killing at least five people, officials say.
Huge sections of roadway crushed several vehicles, including a bus with dozens of passengers on board, increasing the likelihood of a high death toll, Karachi police Chief Azhar Farooqi told media. "Five bodies have been moved to hospital, while around a dozen injured are being treated."
Rescuers were using heavy machinery to reach at least two-dozen people who could be heard shouting for help from beneath the wreckage of the Shershah bypass in the northern outskirts of the city, according to reports.
"There are at least 15 dead bodies under the debris," a survivor told Pakistan`s Geo news channel after he managed to crawl out of his trapped car.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz ordered an inquiry into the collapse of the overpass, which was built by the National Highway Authority and opened on Aug. 6 by President Pervez Musharraf. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of the overpass.