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Labourers killed as 11-storey building collapses amid monsoon in India
Dozens trapped as building collapses during monsoon rains in India
(about 2 hours later)
Police in southern India detained five construction company officials on Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses which killed at least 22 people.
Police in southern India detained five construction company officials on Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed buried beneath a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 22 people. Nearly 90 contract workers are believed to have been in the basement of the 11-storey structure collecting their wages when it collapsed on Saturday on the outskirts of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. Police said of 31 people pulled from the rubble four had died on the spot and seven died later in hospital.
Nearly 90 contract workers are believed to have been in the basement of the 11-storey structure collecting their wages when it collapsed on Saturday on the outskirts of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.
Officials said the exact number of those trapped is unknown. Rescuers could hear voices in the rubble which may take two to three days to clear. Police officer George Fernandes said two directors, two engineers and a supervisor of the construction company, Prime Sristi, were detained for questioning.
Police said 31 people had been pulled out so far: four died on the spot and another seven succumbed to injuries in hospital.
Balaguru, a builder at the site, said the structure may have collapsed due to lightning. "Usually, once the construction gets over we install the equipment to prevent the building from a thunder strike. It was nearing completion," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted him as saying.
The exact number of those trapped was unknown, but rescuers could hearvoices in the debris, said TS Sridhar, the disaster management agency commissioner. Officials used gas cutters, iron rods and shovels after cranes lifted concrete blocks to get to the survivors.
Earlier on Saturday 11 people died and one survivor was taken to hospital after a four-storey, 50-year-old structure toppled in a poor neighbourhood of New Delhi, said the fire service officer Praveer Haldiar. Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorised extra floors.
"Removing debris is a major challenge. It may take two to three days to clear the rubble," said SP Selvam, who is heading the rescue operation.
Police officer Fernandes said two directors, two engineers and one supervisor of the construction company, Prime Sristi, were detained for questioning as authorities began investigating the collapse.
Balaguru, a builder at the site, said the structure may have collapsed due to the impact of lightning.
"Usually, once the construction gets over we install the equipment to prevent the building from a thunder strike. It was nearing completion," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted him as saying.
Earlier on Saturday 11 people died and one survivor was being treated in hospital after a four-storey, 50-year-old structure toppled in a poor neighbourhood of New Delhi, said the fire service officer Praveer Haldiar.
Most homes in that part of the capital were built without permission and using substandard materials, police officer Madhur Verma said.
Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use poor-quality materials or add unauthorized extra floors.
In April last year, in the worst incident in decades, 74 people were killed when an eight-storey building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra caved in.
