Dumping ground turns graveyard for 7

Of the remaining three,two injured were rushed to the hospital. One is feared buried under the rubble. Mammoth rescue operation was on till the filing of this report.

The accident took place on Sunday afternoon,when 18 people were rummaging for bricks in the rubble,which they sold for a living.

A tipper came to unload rubble. Seeing it approach,they reportedly went to a platform to wait for the truck to unload and pick up the bricks.

In reverse gear,the truck was approaching the area where the rubble had to be unloaded,when the sewerage tank beneath the platform caved in,trapping those standing on the platform. As a result,the truck also tumbled sideways.

The deceased and the injured belong to the Amb Sahib Colony in Phase XI,Mohali.

The injured were rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32. Their condition is reportedly out of danger.

Driver of the truck fled the spot. A case has been registered against him in Sector-34 police station.

Slow rescue
After the police received a call about the incident,four fire tenders rushed to spot with two dozen fire department personnel.

Soon,over 100 policemen and around 50 volunteers of the Dera Sacha Sauda reached the spot.

But lack of coordination and absence of a plan marred the rescue operation. The uncoordinated and slow rescue diminished the chances of finding survivors in the debris.

Although the fire department swung into action immediately,it took an hour before expert help reached the spot with four JCB cranes.

The first body was excavated around 1.30 pm and the last around 4.45 pm. The victims were buried under five to eight feet of rubble.

The presence of a large number of onlookers also slowed down the rescue. SSP S S Srivastva himself tried to disperse the crowd,but in the absence of a public address system,the police had to use mild force to shoo them away.

Volunteers of the Shah Satnam Green S Welfare Force of the Dera Sacha Sauda came handy during the rescue operations.

Women volunteers of the group held back the wailing mothers and wives,who would rush towards the site every time a body was excavated.

Admitting that the rescue was lacking in certain areas,Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh said,“There were certain issues. But we had to carry out the operation slowly. Otherwise those trapped inside the rubble could have got hurt.”

The Indian Air Force also provided assistance. On receiving a call from the Sector-31 police station,a medical team with an ambulance was sent to the site by the 12 Wing Air Force Station,Chandigarh.

Three ambulances,meanwhile,rushed the victims to hospitals.

The painful wait
It was a long wait for family members of those trapped inside. Cries of women and children mixed with the low murmurs of hundreds of onlookers around the spot.

With every new body,family members would rush to see who the victim was.

Family members of Santosh,who is still missing,kept waiting till late in the evening.

His mother was incessantly praying with tears rolling down her cheeks and his wife was profusely sobbing. “Mother goddess,save my son,” Leelwati kept chanting.

Santosh’s brother,9-year-old Satish,said: “I was also standing there with my brother,but I was on the other side. He was standing near the truck,and in a fraction of second,everything collapsed.”

All for a brick
The victims’ families,originally hailing from Uttar Pradesh,have been collecting bricks from the rubble ever since they came to the city.

These bricks are then sold for Rs 1.50 in the Sector-50 market.

Like any other day,these four families had reached the site to make Rs 50 to 100 each.

“We come here regularly to collect bricks and sell them in Sector 50,” Dal Chand,a relative of Santosh,said.

UT announces compensation
The UT Administration has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for each adult who died,and Rs 50,000 for each family,which lost their children.

DC Brijendra Singh said since the victims are from Mohali,they have been asked to give their correct addresses,so that the disbursement of compensation could be smooth.

The dead
Family 1
Chanderwati (35) and her son Chanderkesh (12) died.
Husband Rajvir had a miraculous escape with other sons Morepal and Rakesh.

Family 2
Rajwati (35) and her son Johny (9) died. Husband Kalu escaped unhurt.

Family 3
Jaiprakash (23) and his sister Neeraj (13) died.
Brother Satish escaped unhurt.

Family 4
Sukhan (13) died in front of his parents,who were standing on the other side of the heap.