A 50-year-old woman was killed while her husband and son suffered injuries on Thursday night as their old, dilapidated house at Bhagat Mohalla locality of Katras collapsed due to lack of repair.

Bobby Devi, who was rushed to Sahid Nirmal Mahto Medical Hospital was declared brought dead, while her husband Pradeep Gupta (50) and 15-year-old son Ayush Seth are undergoing treatment at Asharfi Hospital of Dhanbad and Nichitpur clinic respectively.

Gupta received multiple injuries affecting his gallbladder while Ayush suffered a right leg fracture.

Gupta’s daughters Prerna and Mitali Kumari remained unhurt as they were not in the house during the time of the incident.

Senior officials of district administration and police led by Prem Kumar Tiwari, sub-divisional officer of Dhanbad, reached the site to supervise the rescue operation carried out by rescue teams of BCCL, Dhanbad Municipal Corporation and Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited.

Gupta’s neighbours said that the house was constructed more than 100 years ago and was lying in extremely dilapidated condition. He could not repair the house due to financial constraints after having lost his job.

Pankaj Gupta, a cousin of the injured house owner, said, “As our house is situated just adjacent to Pradeep’s house, one of the walls and a part of the roof of our house was also damaged in the incident.”

Pankaj said that all the other relatives had shifted to other houses but Pradeep had to stay in because of his financial condition.

Councillor of Ward Number 3 of Katras, Vinayak Gupta said, “Several old houses in Bhagat Muhalla are lying in similar conditions. The government should also devise a policy so that such houses in old towns of the state, including at Jharia and Katras, can be repaired ensuring the safety of their inhabitants.”