Bengaluru: Under-construction building collapses, three dead, nine trapped

BENGALURU: Three workers died and nine others were trapped under tonnes of debris when an under-construction four-storeyed building collapsed in Jayaramareddy Layout in Kasavanahalli near Bellandur on Thursday evening.

The building collapsed sideways even as two floors were being added to the existing three. The workers were on various floors when the building suddenly started tilting before collapsing in a heap, taking the workers with it.

Fire personnel and national and state disaster response teams rushed to the spot and rescued at least 14 persons.The deceased are Sher Ahmed, Anwar Ansari (both from Bihar), and Raju Sab, whose native place is unknown. The building collapsed on the road with commercial shops on the other side. Shop owners managed to escape with minor injuries. “As the building fell on the adjacent building, staff from a nearby school came out and rushed to help,” said Mani, an eyewitness who first alerted the fire department control room.

“The building collapsed right in front of us,” said Arjun, a gym trainer. “We ran to save our lives. Later, we got into the adjacent building and got into the collapsed building to rescue at least five labourers. One was bleeding with a grill right through his ribs. We removed it and rushed him to a hospital,” he said.

IN A FLASH
Haseena, wife of deceased Raju Sab, said, “We were on the 4th floor. My husband wanted tea. As he headed down, the building collapsed. I managed to walk to the adjacent building and to safety.”

POOR QUALITY
Mayor Sampath Raj said the probable reason for the collapse was poor quality of construction. “The material used could be substandard. We will send samples to the labs concerned for verification.”

COMPENSATION
Bengaluru Development Minister K J George announced a compensation of K5 lakh for kin of deceased. He also promised action against building owner Rafeeq, who is absconding.