Two Dead as Under-Construction Building Collapses in Karnataka

At least two people have been killed and six others injured after an under-construction building collapsed in North Karnataka’s Dharwad district on Tuesday, 19 March, reported PTI. The incident took place in Kumareshwar Nagar off Bengaluru-Pune highway on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking to The Quint, MN Nagaraju, Police Commissioner, Hubli–Dharwad said, “We are currently going through the debris. We have deployed three cranes and four earth movers. We have rescued 14 people so far.”

He also added that there is confusion whether there were four storeys or five storeys in the building.

As many as 10 ambulances and five fire tenders have been pressed into action to carry out rescue and relief operations.

Expert Rescuers Sent by Special Flight: CM

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took to Twitter and said the rescue operations are underway.

“The rescue operation is on and five people have been extricated, so far, from the debris. I have instructed the concerned officials to be on location,” Kumaraswamy added.

‘There Were Shops on First Two Floors’

An eyewitness speaking to TV9 claimed that the first two floors of the building were rented out by shops. He added that parts of the building were being constructed while shops were operating.

The ground floor of the building had two small restaurants and one medical store among others.

Apart from Dharwad district, additional rescue teams have been called in from neighbouring districts of the Belagavi, Huballi, Tumkuru, Chitradurga and Haveri.

According to fire management centre in Bengaluru, as the rescue is expected to take time, additional rescue units have been sent from Bengaluru’s Peenya, Rajajinagar fire stations located approximately 450 km away from the location of collapse.