Bengaluru: Tuesday's Babusapalya building collapse saw a swift response from two men to rescue two labourers trapped under the debris within a couple of hours of the accident.
Fireman Hemanth Kumar D and civil defence sector warden of Banaswadi Venugopal, also known as Gopi, were the heroes who swung into action without any advanced tools or additional staff support.
The fire and emergency services received a call around 4.10pm about the incident, which happened at 3.45pm. As most of his men were clearing water from a flooded Yelahanka apartment, the district fire officer (DFO) of Banaswadi, Revanna Siddappa Putti, asked Kumar to go to the spot on his bike and update him about the situation by which time he would rush more men and material to the spot.
Kumar reached the spot around 5pm and immediately noticed a few labourers trapped on the first floor of the collapsed structure, screaming for help. He saw Gopi at the spot. An excavator used for the same building construction was at the site.
"He instructed the excavator operator to take them near the window of the first floor. He and Gopi got on into the front bucket of the excavator and found two labourers inside a room. He told the labourers not to panic and that they were going to rescue them," said regional fire officer Manjunath KV.
Even as he updated his DFO about the situation, Kumar tried in vain to cut the iron grill of the window. He managed to get an angle grinder (a metal cutting machine) and within 20 minutes, succeeded in cutting the grills. The two labourers, identified as Armaan and Zeeshan, were taken into the same bucket by Kumar and Gopi, and brought down.
Kumar and Gopi's timely work saved two labourers, Manjunath said.