Toll rises to 45 in Pakistan factory collapse

The toll in the factory collapse in Pakistan's Punjab province has risen to 45.

Rescuers on Saturday pulled out more bodies from the rubble of a four-storey factory in Sunder Estate, Dawn online reported.

Rescuers in Lahore, Punjab province, cut through steel and used cranes to lift the debris of the building and found five people alive.

At least 109 people of a total 167 trapped have been rescued from the Rajput Polyester polythene bag factory near Lahore after it came crashing down on Wednesday, trapping scores of people inside.

Some labourers of the factory had held a protest three days before the tragic collapse, complaining of cracks in its structure after the October 26 earthquake.

National Trade Union Federation Pakistan chairman Yousaf Baloch in a statement condemned the "negligence" shown by the factory owner and demanded action against the responsible people.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the factory may have suffered damages in the quake which killed around 400 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan.