"In old city areas, there is a lot of illegal construction work going on. Workers work there for eight to 10 hours a day, at their own risk. There is no security for them there, no helmets, no jackets; they work at their own risk," Rahmatullah, a contractor in Karachi, Pakistan, told DW.

Workers are willing to take every risk to earn a basic livelihood.

"At times, I feel fear because of the height, but I have to work, for my children's sake," Nasrullah, a construction worker, told DW. "Often, new people come for this work, but they usually cannot deal with this kind of work. Those who have been working for some time do not run away."

And many don't wear safety gear even when it is available.

The provincial assembly passed the Sindh Occupational Safety and Health Act in 2017. The regulations exist on paper, but are rarely implemented. Government officials did not respond to DW's request for comment 

Employers also don't treat workers' safety as a priority.

"We come from villages to work here. There are no jobs in villages. I would not want my children to get into this work. I will get them educated in Punjab [province], and they will work in other fields," Qadeer Ahmed, another construction worker, told DW.