Telangana

Many trapped, a few feared dead after under-construction building collapses in Hyderabad

A large number of locals and relatives of people who were trapped gathered at the spot.

Written by : TNM Staff

An under-construction building collapsed in Hyderabad on Thursday night, in which six people have been killed and two persons have been rescued alive so far.

Around 9am on Friday, a female body was recovered. The Mayor has confirmed that the lady was dead. Another female body was recovered from the debris at around 10:40am.

Two other bodies were recovered in the early evening.

(NDRF personnel recovering the body at 10:40 am)

Rekha, a construction worker from Chhattisgarh and her three-year-old son Deepak, were pulled out alive from the rubble and shifted to a hospital. 

The two rescued victims have been shifted to the nearby Continental Hospital in Gachibowli.

According to NDRF personnel, their team arrived at 10 30pm on Thursday, soon after the incident.

Another NDRF team arrived from Vijayawada at 5am on Friday.

Kuldeep Singh, Deputy Commandant NDRF, told TNM that chances of survival of those in the building are low, since the building went straight down and became a pancake structure.

"If the building would've fallen after tilting, we have certain procedures to follow and rescue victims. But in this case, rescue operations are tough," he said. 

(Scenes from Thursday night)

The police told TNM that it was a seven-storied building that collapsed. Construction workers and their families who were asleep were trapped under the rubble.

Police and fire brigade personnel have launched a rescue operation. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams also joined the rescue work. The mayor Bonthu Raman is overseeing rescue operations.

A large number of locals and relatives of people trapped, have gathered and are anxiously awaiting any news of their loved ones, while police and authorities are trying to control the crowd.

Lorries have been brought to clear the debris. 

According to NDTV, there were five families residing in the building when it collapsed, of which four belonged to tile workers and plumbers while one belonged to the building's watchman.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya said nearly 15 people could be trapped under the debris.

A senior police officer told TNM that the building, owned by a businessman, was nearly complete and only final work was underway.

TNM has learned that most of the vicitms were from Chilakalapalli, and other surrounding villages in Andhra's Vizianagaram district, while a few were said to be from Chhattisgarh. At least 10 of the 13 victims were from the same district and were working as masons at the site. They had come to Hyderabad two years ago and had been at this site for around a year, their family says. A 14-year-old girl is also believed to be one of the victims. 

Home Minister N. Narasimha Reddy, Excise Minister Padma Rao and senior officials have rushed to the scene to supervise the rescue work.

Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao visited the site and announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia each to the families of the dead. He said the government would provide best medical treatment to the injured.

He said all efforts were being made to rescue those trapped under the debris.

The minister announced the suspension of a deputy commissioner of GHMC and an assistant town planning officer.

He said the builder had no permission for construction and severe action would be taken against him and other authorities concerned. 

Police booked a case against the builder Satyanarayana, who is absconding.

GHMC officials said the G+6 storey building was being constructed in violation of all norms.

The building had come up on just 270 square yards. Officials said the builder was also constructing a penthouse.

Police have put up barricades at the end of the street to control crowds. 

IANS inputs

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