2 arrested, 20 dead in India building collapses

June 29, 2014

Building collapses2

New Delhi, Jun 29: Police in southern India detained two construction company directors Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 20 people.

The 12-story apartment structure the workers were building collapsed late Saturday while heavy rains and lightning were pounding the outskirts of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. Police said 28 construction workers had been pulled out so far and the search was continuing for more than a dozen others.

Four of the workers died on the spot and another five succumbed to injuries later in a hospital, said police officer George Fernandes.

Thirteen injured workers have been hospitalized, while six others were allowed to go home after medical attention on Saturday night, Fernandes said.

Police officer Kanan said two directors of the construction company, Prime Sristi, have been detained for questioning as authorities began investigating the cause of the collapse. The officer uses one name.

Balaguru, one of the builders, said the structure collapsed possibly 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 Balaguru, who uses one name, as saying.

Nearly 300 policemen and fire service workers worked overnight, looking for survivors in the debris. They used gas cutters, iron rods and shovels to reach those trapped in the rubble.

Earlier Saturday, a four-story, 50-year-old structure toppled in an area of New Delhi inhabited by the poor. Eleven people died and one survivor was being treated in a hospital, said 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.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the New Delhi collapse was triggered by construction work on an adjacent plot.

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 unauthorized extra floors.

In April last year, 74 people were killed when an eight-story building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra state caved in. It was the worst building collapse in the country in decades.

Building collapsed1

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Earlier:

Chennai building collapse: Death toll climbs to 10, over 20 rescued

Chennai Building Collapse

Chennai, Jun 29: The death toll in the 11-storey building collapse in Chennai climbed to at least 10, with over 40 people still feared trapped, as per reports on Sunday.

As the rescue operation is still on, 26 people have been pulled out from the debris.

To assist in the rescue work, four teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been sent to the spot.

Out of those killed, three are women, said police.

As per the NDRF team, there is no clarity on the number of people trapped inside the debris.

"There is no clarity on the number of people trapped. Our initial priority is to rescue trapped people who are known to be inside. Clearing the debris is a big challenge, it would take two to three days," National Disaster Response Force DIG S P Selvan told reporters here.

Meanwhile, two people from the construction company, which had taken up the housing project, have been detained.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha said, “We have directed the police to take action against those responsible for the incident.”

On the other hand, director of Prime Sristi, which had taken up the residential project, said that thunder strike was the cause of building collapse.

He further added that the installation work of the equipment to prevent the building from thunder strike was underway when the building collapsed and there were 50 workers inside the building during the mishap.

According to the state authorities, the building collapsed in heavy rain at around 5 pm Saturday.

The injured were rushed to Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

2 arrested, 20 dead in India building collapses

New Delhi, Jun 29: Police in southern India detained two construction company directors Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 20 people.

The 12-story apartment structure the workers were building collapsed late Saturday while heavy rains and lightning were pounding the outskirts of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. Police said 28 construction workers had been pulled out so far and the search was continuing for more than a dozen others.

Four of the workers died on the spot and another five succumbed to injuries later in a hospital, said police officer George Fernandes.

Thirteen injured workers have been hospitalized, while six others were allowed to go home after medical attention on Saturday night, Fernandes said.

Police officer Kanan said two directors of the construction company, Prime Sristi, have been detained for questioning as authorities began investigating the cause of the collapse. The officer uses one name.

Balaguru, one of the builders, said the structure collapsed possibly 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 Balaguru, who uses one name, as saying.

Nearly 300 policemen and fire service workers worked overnight, looking for survivors in the debris. They used gas cutters, iron rods and shovels to reach those trapped in the rubble.

Earlier Saturday, a four-story, 50-year-old structure toppled in an area of New Delhi inhabited by the poor. Eleven people died and one survivor was being treated in a hospital, said 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.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the New Delhi collapse was triggered by construction work on an adjacent plot.

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 unauthorized extra floors.

In April last year, 74 people were killed when an eight-story building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra state caved in. It was the worst building collapse in the country in decades.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 11,2020

Mumbai, Feb 11: A 65-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband over debt and illness in suburban Powai here, police said on Tuesday.

The incident came to light when Sheela Ajit Lad was found dead by her neighbours at Sukh Shanti Co-operative Society at around 9.30 pm on Monday, an official said.

The victim was allegedly killed by her husband Ajit Lad, who hit her on the head with a heavy object, slit her wrists and strangled her to death, he said.

The accused absconded at around 7.30 pm, leaving a note at the crime scene, saying he was going to commit suicide and had killed his wife because he was heavily in debt and she was suffering from an ailment, the official said.

The childless couple lived alone in the apartment, he added.

"On the basis of the note, we have registered a case of murder against Ajit Lad and have launched a manhunt for him. We have not traced him or found his body as he had mentioned suicide in the note," deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Zone X Ankit Goyal said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 22,2020

Warangal, May 22: In a shocking incident, bodies of nine migrant workers, including six of a family, were found in a well at Gorrekunta area in the outskirts of Warangal city. Of the nine bodies, four were found on May 21.

"Till now, nine bodies have been found in a well near a gunny bag godown at Gorrekunta area in the outskirts of Warangal city. Of the nine bodies, four were found on May 21 and the rest were found today. As six of the bodies belong to one family, it has led to suspicion," said Dr V Ravinder, Commissioner of Police, Warangal, while speaking to ANI over phone.

"The four bodies that were found yesterday have been identified as Md Maksood (50), his wife Nisha (45), daughter Busra (20) and grandson (3). The five bodies that have been found today have been identified as that of Shabad Alam, son of Maksood, Sohail Alam (Maksood's family member), Shakeel, a family friend of Maksood," he further said.

The bodies have been taken out from the well and sent to MGM Hospital for post mortem.
Minister Errabelli Dayakar, District Collector Harita, Mayor Prakash Rao have visited the spot along with the Warangal Commissioner.

Md Maksood had migrated from West Bengal to Warangal 20 years ago. Since last December, he and his family members have been working in a nearby gunny bag manufacturing unit godown at Gorrekunta. After the lockdown, the family shifted from Warangal and settled down in the factory godown.

According to police, on Thursday noon when the unit owner Santosh came to the godown as part of his daily routine he could not find any of the labourers. Later, he discovered four dead bodies floating in the well.

The Warangal police has registered a case under Section 174 CrPC. They said the exact reason for their deaths will be known only after the investigation.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 1,2020

Lucknow, May 1: Six members of a family were allegedly hacked to death by another family member over a property dispute in Gudauli village in the Banthra area on the outskirts of the city on Thursday, police said.

The accused, Ajay Singh (26), went to the local police station after committing the crime and surrendered, they added.

Singh allegedly had a heated argument with the family members over a property and attacked them with a sharp-edged weapon, the police said.

The accused allegedly killed his mother, father, elder brother, his wife and two children -- a son and a daughter -- they added.

The victims were identified as Amar (60), Ramsakhi (55), Arun (40), Ramdulari (35), Saurabh (7) and Sarika (2).

When asked, Commissioner of Police Sujeet Pandey said six members of a family were killed and the accused surrendered before the police.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.