NEW DELHI, July 6: At least one person was killed and 15 others injured while several others feared trapped under a six-storey building that collapsed in Surat in Gujarat on Saturday evening.
The collapse in Sachin Pali village is claimed to have been caused by incessant heavy rains in the last few days. Police said one woman was rescued alive from under the debris but several others are feared still trapped under the debris. The search and rescue operation was continuing till late in the night, the Surat district collector Sourabh Pardhi said.
As per the officials, the building, which was built just eight years ago, was in a dilapidated condition and most flats were vacant. But five families were inside the building when it collapsed, police said.
The police and fire department officials promptly mobilised to clear the rubble, combing through the wreckage in search of survivors. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been called in to augment the ongoing rescue efforts.
Surat’s District Collector expressed hope that the remaining individuals could be rescued within a few hours, as teams from the NDRF and SDRF were tirelessly engaged in the operation. Surat’s Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said he was confident that the trapped individuals’ voices could be heard from beneath the rubble, assuring that they would be rescued soon.
As the rescue operation unfolded, the authorities have launched a thorough investigation to ascertain the cause of the building’s collapse.
(Manas Dasgupta)