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.

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, 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.