Eleven shops at Karachi’s old and busiest market, Jubilee Market, collapsed Thursday morning after which the market was sealed. No injuries were reported.

At 11am, a portion of the shops built on a stormwater drain in Soldier Bazaar collapsed. This includes shops selling unstitched clothes, sewing machines, and electronic items.

District City Senior Superintendent of Police Sarfaraz Nawaz told SAMAA Digital that people inside the shops at the time of collapse escaped unharmed.

Garden Assistant Commissioner Mohsin Imtiaz visited the affected market later in the day.

He shared that the collapse occurred because the structure of the rainwater drain had weakened. “Subsequently, shops built on the affected part of the drain collapsed,” he said, adding that “the market has been sealed to conduct a technical survey of the area.”

The decision to reopen the shops will be made after the survey has been completed.

The police, however, feel that the collapse occurred because of gas pressure as the KMC has been clearing the drain.

It has been reported that KMC had issued notices to the shopkeepers to vacate the shops on the instructions of the Supreme Court.

Thirty years ago, the area used to be called Jubilee Cinema. The shops were built on the stormwater drain on the opposite side of the building.

Two shops had earlier been demolished to clear the drain.

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