Rescue works underway after an under-construction building collapsed in Ghaziabad on Sunday. (PTI)
Two days after wrapping up rescue operations at Greater Noida’s Shahberi village, the 200-plus members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), including their Commandant and a dog squad, faced a similar task: a collapsed building, unknown number of people trapped, and unfavourable weather conditions.
But the outcome this time was different — the NDRF rescued eight of the 10 estimated people trapped in the building in Ghaziabad’s Misal Garhi.
“This area is more congested than Shahberi. The weather conditions are also worse today as it has been raining since Saturday. These had slowed down our operations briefly,” said PK Srivastava, Commandant, NDRF.
“We have not used any heavy machinery in this case, unlike Shahberi, as early on in the operation, two live rescues had happened. So far, we have rescued eight people. One person is dead, and a six-year-old boy is missing,” said Srivastava.
In the afternoon, the dog squad “sensed” human activity under the rubble. “That’s when we deployed other methods such as rescue radars, sensors and visual search to locate them…we are using light equipment such as cutters and lifters for now,” he added. Late Sunday night, a crane was brought to the spot to remove layers of rubble — floor by floor.