Bengaluru: Under construction building collapse – Death toll rises to 5

Team Udayavani, Oct 23, 2024, 8:17 AM IST

The death toll in the collapse of six-storey under-construction building in Babusapalya, Hennur, crose to five on Wednesday

Rescue operations are ongoing, and on Wednesday morning, one worker was rescued. Efforts continue to locate and rescue any remaining workers still trapped under the rubble.

Two rescue vans from the fire and emergency department have been pressed into rescue operations. They said the incident occurred at a time when the city was witnessing a heavy downpour.

“Approximately 20 people were trapped. One body has been recovered, 14 workers have been rescued and five are still missing,” D Devaraja, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Bengaluru), told media persons.

A fire department official said that, according to a preliminary investigation, the entire building collapsed, trapping the people underneath.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar visited the spot and took stock of the situation.

He said that out of the 14 rescued, seven were in the hospital.

Shivakumar said the building was illegal and strict action will be taken in this matter.

“I have been told that there was no permission and illegal activities were going on. We will take strict action against the owner, contractors and everyone (of the alleged building). In the entire Bengaluru, we will see to it that we come up with a decision…wherever such illegal constructions are going on, we will stop it immediately. I will conduct a big survey on this,” he told reporters here.

“We will stop all these illegal constructions and I will also instruct the registrars to not accept the transfer of such illegal properties which have no plan sanctions. We will take strict action against this,” the deputy chief minister added.

(with PTI inputs)