11 buried alive in building collapse

HYDERABAD: Ten labourers and a two-year-old boy were buried alive under the debris after a five-floor building under construction collapsed here on the bustling Narayanguda main road on Friday. Among the victims were four women.

Police, fire-service personnel and locals managed to rescue two labourers trapped under the debris using poclains and cranes, but the thousands of people thronging the area delayed rescue operations. Nearly 15 labourers were working on the fifth floor when the building caved in around 2.30 p.m.

Anxious parents of the students of Brilliant Grammar School, adjacent to the building, rushed to the spot. Fortunately, the school building developed only minor cracks on one side and no one was injured. Originally, it was a building of the erstwhile City Improvement Board Quarters. A builder had taken it for development and constructed five floors. “Having completed the slab work, walls were being constructed. It appears improper curing of walls weakened the structure leading to the building’s collapse,” Narayanguda Inspector G. Jogaiah said.

As the rubble fell on the road between the collapsed building and the abutting fly-over, manoeuvring of cranes and earthmovers became difficult. It took more than two hours to clear the huge concrete block that fell on top of the debris under which most of the labourers were trapped.

Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy instructed the police to arrest the builder immediately after inspecting the spot. Three GHMC officials were also suspended. (From హిందూ)