Bengaluru rains: One body recovered, 21 feared trapped as under-construction building collapses

Bengaluru, Oct 22 (IANS) In a major tragedy amid the rain fury in Bengaluru, one person from Bihar has died and about 21 labourers from different states are feared trapped inside the under-construction building which collapsed in Babusapalya locality of Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The official sources stated that the death toll is likely to go up in the tragedy.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited the tragedy site on Tuesday late in the night and stated that about 21 persons were trapped inside the collapsed building.

A 26-year-old youth from Bihar named Arman has died after coming under the debris. Sixteen persons have been rescued so far and among them, seven are shifted to the hospital.

“The rescue operation is on and big machines are used to carry out search operations and we have taken care of the fact that while using the big machines to clear the debris, there is a chance of it falling on those trapped inside. The NDRF and SDRF have been pressured into service. The Fire Force and Emergency Services DG are on the spot with the team,” Shivakumar informed.

The construction labourers who are trapped inside hailed from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar. They were carrying out sanitary, wiring, and electric works in the building. Immediately a case will be registered against the contractor and the owner without any mercy, he stated.

“I was told that the construction was totally illegal. We will take strict action. We will come out with a plan for the entire Bengaluru. We will stop the construction of buildings illegally, wherever they are going. I will ensure the survey in this regard. I will also instruct the registrars not to register such properties,” he underlined.

The building is built on a 60x40 site and the authorities have issued three notices to the owner. But, serving notice is not important and action should have been initiated. Now, the rescue of those who are trapped inside is important, Shivakumar stated.

“Once the rescue mission is complete by tomorrow or the day after, I will initiate legal action on all buildings which are built without permission, and building plan approval. The heavy downpour lashing the city is totally unexpected. Now, we have gauged the proportion,” he stated.

The survey for the building violations will be conducted this month and identify those buildings which have been built in violation of rules. The Revenue Department will not give permission for those buildings. If the houses get sold and registered there will be a problem, he stated.

An under-construction building collapsed in Bengaluru on Tuesday, following heavy rains that continued to lash the city. Initial reports indicated that three bodies were recovered and 17 were found trapped inside the building.

The rescue work continues for others.

One of the injured construction workers came out from the debris and informed them about the tragedy. The police, fire force and emergency services personnel rushed to the scene and took up the rescue operation based on the inputs from the injured worker.

More details are yet to emerge regarding the tragedy. As per preliminary reports, the management continued the work amid the heavy rains, which led to the tragedy.

The videos of the building crashing down have gone viral on social media and raised concern among the people.