2 dead in Mohali building collapse, 10 feared trapped in basement

Speaking to The Indian Express, Mohali DC Aashika Jain said that the first body of a woman was rescued from under the debris late Saturday but her identity was unknown. A gym and a paying guest facility was being run from the building, Jain said, adding that the number of people buried under the debris couldn’t be confirmed at the given moment. “Our exclusive focus is on rescue operation,” she added.

The district administration has set up a control room, and Civil Hospital Mohali, Fortis, Max and Sohana Hospital have been put on alert. Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and Aam Aadmi Party MP Malwinder Singh Kang have reached the spot to take stock of the ongoing rescue work.

DGP Yadav reiterated the priority is to “save as many as we can”. The causes that led to this incident are being investigated and action shall be taken against those responsible, but the priority is to save lives,”  Yadav told reporters.

AAP MP Kang said the priority of the district administration and rescue teams is to find out if anybody is trapped beneath the debris.

The Mohali administration suspects that people could be trapped below the rubble, with the Army pegging the figure of those likely trapped in the basement at 10-15. One injured person, who was in a semi-conscious state, was taken out of the debris by the NDRF teams and taken to a nearby hospital. The person remains in critical condition.

The NDRF team engaged in rescue work after a multi-storey building collapsed in Mohali on Saturday. (Express photo by Jasbir Singh Malhi)

Two columns of Army Engineers have been dispatched from the local engineers’ brigade after a requisition by the Mohali administration.

According to preliminary information, the building collapsed after a basement was dug up nearby. The police teams have reached the spot.

Former sarpanch of Sohana village Parwinder Singh Sohana said that he came to know that a gym was damaged and at the time of the incident some youngsters were inside the gym.

“As of now, we do not know what has happened. We are looking if anyone is trapped and urge the administration to expedite the rescue work,” Sohana added.

Mohali Deputy Commissioner (DC) Aashika Jain suspected that some people may have been buried under the building. She added that the rescue work was on.

The administration was yet to check whether the building owner had the permission of constructing the multi-story building or not.