A newly constructed three-storey building collapsed in Ullahawas village, in Gurugram’s Sector 61, at 5.15am on Thursday leaving seven of its nine occupants dead. Two of the occupants, both of whom work as night security guards at a private company in the vicinity, were at work when the building collapsed.

While six bodies were recovered on Thursday, the seventh body was spotted trapped and the rescuers retrieved it later in the night. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) called off the rescue operations early on Friday morning, ANI reported.

Haryana: Rescue operation called off by NDRF in Ullawas, Gurugram, where a four-storey building collapsed yesterday killing 7 people.

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2019

Officials said, the collapsed three-storey building stood on 100 square yards of Lal Dora land and was constructed six months ago. The fourth floor was being built and a lintel was erected on Wednesday, which officials believe weakened its structure leading to its collapse.

“Preliminary investigation revealed the lintel’s foundation did not set due to the cold, adding pressure on the rest of the building, leading to its collapse,” assistant divisional fire safety officer IS Kashyap said.

“There were eight rooms on the first floor, four in the front and four at the back. The occupants stayed in four rooms and their items were stored in the other four rooms. The floors above were empty and the fourth floor was being constructed,” NDRF assistant commandant Anil Kumar Singh said.

The assistant divisional fire safety officer said the fire department and the Gurugram police were the first to be informed of the collapse around 5.30am. “We alerted the civil defence officials, NDRF and SDRF,” he said.

More than 300 personnel from different agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force, were engaged in the rescue operation, which started around 6am. He said an additional 100 Gurugram police personnel were also deployed.

Two earthmovers, four trolleys and a hydra crane from the MCG were used for the rescue operation. The NDRF used four trained canines, live detection cameras, steel-, iron- and concrete-cutters to locate people under the debris.

It took rescuers over eight hours to recover the first body around 2.30pm. By 4.50pm, a total of six bodies were pulled out. It took rescuers another three hours to pull out the last body.

“Bodies of seven people have been recovered from the site of building collapse. Rescue operation will continue at night. The bodies have been sent to Civil hospital for post-mortem (examiniation),” an official statement from the district administration read. An FIR has been registered against the owner and contractor of the building.

Five of the six deceased have been identified as Altaf (20) from Samastipur in Bihar, Kuldeep (32) from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Vishal (17) from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Anand (22) from Samastipur in Bihar and Mohit (19) from Ferozebad in UP. The sixth and seventh deceased remain unidentified. The owner of the building Daya Ram, who stays in the adjoining lane 50 metres from the site, is absconding.

Sub-divisional magistrate Sanjiv Singla said, “The building was in a Lal Dora area and fell outside the jurisdiction of MCG. Hence, no building bylaws are applicable on it. The owner of the building and gram panchayat are accountable for its collapse .”

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced Rs 3 lakh compensation for the next of kin.

First Published: Jan 25, 2019 09:05 IST