Trapped earthquake victims use mobiles to call for help

Survivors trapped in the rubble of a collapsed Pakistani factory pleaded for help on their mobiles even as rescuers said they feared the death toll of 18 could rise in the latest tragedy to spotlight poor safety standards in south Asia.

Nearly 100 survivors have been pulled from the wreckage of the factory, which made shopping bags 20km south of the city of Lahore, but rescuers say scores of workers had been crowded into the building’s basement.

“We were working on the first floor when the roof collapsed,” said Liaqat Ali, who used his mobile to talk to a television station.

“Now, I can hear the rumble of heavy machines which gives me hope that I will come out alive.”

Injured survivors said the factory’s owner, now among the dead, had ignored advice from his contractor and pleas from his workers to stop construction after cracks in the walls following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed more than 300 people in Pakistan and northern Afghanistan last week.