5 killed, 9 hurt as building’s balcony collapses on them in Prayagraj

PRAYAGRAJ: At least five persons were killed and nine others sustained injuries when the ‘barja’ (balcony) of an old and dilapidated residential-cum-commercial building under which they had taken shelter from rains collapsed near Hatia Golghar, Mutthiganj area under the limits of Mutthiganj police station here on Tuesday.
Upon being alerted, senior police, administrative, fire department along with forces rushed to the spot and carried out rescue operations. The deceased were identified as Rajendra Patel (50) of Naini, Neeraj Kesarwani (50) of Mutthiganj, Shyam Babu (38) of Dadri Chaka (Naini), Nasiruddin (55) of Saraymamrez and S. Gupta (40) of Mutthiganj.
The injured were admitted to SRN hospital and a private hospital for treatment. Senior superintendent of police (Prayagraj) Shailesh Kumar Pandey told TOI, “Five persons have lost their lives and nine others have been injured when ‘barja’ of an old and dilapidated building collapsed on them due to rains. The victims were standing under the ‘barja’ to take shelter from rains all when the incident occurred.” He said the rescue work was in full swing and teams were removing debris of the collapsed ‘barja’ from the spot.
Chief fire officer (Prayagraj) RK Pandey said: “Joint teams of police, fire department and SDRF are carrying out rescue operations to take people out from the debris. We have retrieved two bodies and 12 injured persons from the debris. All the injured persons were immediately sent to SRN hospital for treatment. Three of the injured persons later succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the hospital, taking the toll up to five.” The CFO said that the terrace of the old building probably collapsed due to rain.
The incident created a panic among the local residents who came out from their houses and shops after hearing a loud thud and screams for help. They immediately informed the police and also offered a helping hand to the local police and fire department in the rescue operation. The cops later barricaded area to prevent entry of people and deployed additional forces to maintain law and order.
BJP Mahanagar president Ganesh Kesarwani also rushed to the spot.
He said the state government would provide Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the deceased and free treatment to the injured persons. He also appealed to officials of district administration and Prayagraj Municipal Corporation to conduct a detailed survey of dilapidated buildings in the city and take appropriate measures so that similar incidents do not occur.