BENGALURU: One person was killed after a seven-storey under-construction apartment crashed in Babusalapya, near Hennur, northeast Bengaluru, on Tuesday afternoon and rescue workers were searching late into the night for six others trapped in the debris.
The building collapse is suspected to have been caused due to structural weakness triggered by nonstop rain over the past few days.Thirteen other workers pulled out of the collapsed structure have sustained injuries. Most of the trapped workers were suspected to be on the ground floor.
The collapse occurred around 4pm in heavy rainfall. A few workers were carrying on with their duties despite the downpour, while some others stepped out for a tea break just before all seven floors crashed into an adjacent vacant plot. Nearby residents began pulling out those trapped before others joined in.
Citing preliminary investigation, police said 21 labourers, hailing from Karnataka's Yadgir district, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, were working at the site at the time of the collapse.
Armaan, 26, from, Bihar succumbed to his injuries shortly after being pulled out of the debris.
Raju, a labourer who narrowly escaped by stepping out for tea, said, "We left for a break, but some of my friends stayed back. Now they are under the rubble, and I don't know if they'll make it alive."
Five of the rescued workers sustained serious injuries: Jaggamma, Mallappa and Nagaraj from Yadgir district, and Ramesh Kumar and Wakeel Paswan from Bihar. Jaggamma's condition is reported to be critical. All five injured workers are currently receiving treatment at North Bengaluru Hospital in Kalyannagar.

Eight other labourers — including Armaan, Jishan, Mohammed Sahil, Rasheed, Sitare and Hiliff, all from Bihar, and Pradeep Reddy from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh — have sustained minor injuries.
Six workers remain unaccounted for and are suspected to be under the debris. They include Mohammed Arshad, Thirupali, and Saloh Paswan, all from Bihar, and Thulasi Reddy and Gajendra from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Rescue workers brought one worker – Mohammed Armaan – out alive late in the night.
A senior police officer confirmed that search efforts are still under way to locate the missing workers, with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) leading the efforts alongside BBMP, civil defence, fire and emergency services, and local police.
The building was being constructed on a 40x60ft plot owned by Muniraju Reddy and his son Mohan Reddy, residents of Malleswaram. According to police, Reddys are from Andhra Pradesh. Initial investigations revealed that the construction violated multiple regulations, including being built on B-Khata land without proper permissions.
KN Ramesh, zonal commissioner for Mahadevapura, confirmed a notice has been issued to the builder, who flouted all necessary building norms. "There was no permission for a ground-plus-six structure on this site" Ramesh said. Families and co-workers of the missing labourers were waiting anxiously, praying for a miracle amid the debris, he added.
According to N Sateesh Kumar, additional commissioner of police (West), three of the five hospitalised labourers are unconscious. "We will be taking a complaint from one of the injured, and take necessary action," he added.
DCP (East) D Devaraj said they have already identified irregularities in the construction. A case will be taken up against the building owner, engineer, contractor, and all others responsible for this tragic incident, he added.