Thursday, 21 November 2024
Thursday, 21 November 2024
Six more bodies were recovered during search and rescue operation after an under-construction building collapsed at Babusapalya here, taking the death toll to seven, police said on Wednesday.
Teams from the fire and emergency department, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been pressed into rescue operations since the incident occurred on Tuesday, they said.
"Bhuvan Reddy, son of Muniraja Reddy under whose name the building is being constructed and the contractor Muniyappa who was building it have been taken into custody," a senior police official said.
"Permission was only for construction of a four-storey building but seven floors were being constructed," the official said.
The incident occurred at a time when the city was witnessing heavy downpour.
One worker was killed and his body was recovered by the rescue team on Tuesday.
"So far, five bodies have been recovered and five others are injured. An operation is underway to trace another three who are suspected to be trapped," D Devaraja, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Bengaluru) said.
The total number of people rescued so far is 13, he said.
It is a seven-storey building, the official said.
According to a preliminary inquiry, the entire building collapsed following which people got trapped underneath, a fire department official said.
Rescue operations are still underway.
According to Ahmed, who had a contract for tile work at the site, there were 20 labourers, including tile workers, concrete workers and plumbers, in the building when it collapsed.
He alleged that the basement was weak, which may have contributed to the collapse.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar reacted to the incident and said that a total of 21 labourers were present inside the building during the time of the incident and one of them died.
Bengaluru has been witnessing continuous rain, with several parts of the city, especially north Bengaluru, facing waterlogging, potholes and traffic
