The body of the 11th victim of the Garden Reach building collapse was retrieved around 2.50am on Friday.
Police identified him as Abdul Rauf Nezami, popularly known in the locality as Sheru.
The 45-year-old was said to be the business partner of Mohammad Wasim, the developer of the allegedly illegal five-storey building that collapsed close to Sunday midnight. Wasim and one of the owners of the plot where the building stood are in custody.
Family members told the police that Sheru had called up one of them after the under-construction building collapsed and he got trapped under the debris.
“Fasa hua hoon main. Mujhey nikalo (I’m trapped. Take me out),” he had pleaded.
“That was the last time the family heard from him. He did not take calls or call after that,” said a senior police officer who had spoken extensively with members of the family.
Sheru, found over 96 hours after the crash, was taken to SSKM Hospital, where doctors confirmed the death.
A police officer said Sheru’s family members told them that he used to install electric lines in new buildings. He was responsible for the electrical work of the building that collapsed, they told the police.
He lived with his family in a house at J426 Azhar Molla Bagan. His elder brother, Safi Akhtar, told the police that till Monday the family had hoped he would be alive. They gave up after that.
Sheru is survived by his wife, four daughters and ason.
A CMC official said the men engaged in the demolition wanted to call off work around 10pm on Thursday but were forced to carry on by residents of the area, who insisted that work should continue without any break till Sheru was located.
“It was difficult but they had to continue,” said the official.
“Sheru’s body wasfound after four slabs, supposed to be the casting of four floors, were removed from the site.”
The CMC on Thursday started using an earth mover with “extreme caution” toremove the debris from the site.
An official said a building adjacent to the one that collapsed is tilting and may have to be pulled down. Engineers said they are not taking the earth mover close to the building, lest vibrations cause it to collapse.
He said it will take more than one week to remove all the debris from the collapse site because work is being done manually and with extreme caution.
