Ghaziabad building collapse; 10 killed, seven injured

Rescue operations continued till late this evening. The police have not been able to trace the apartments’ owner, Yashpal Sharma.

The building has four flats on either side with a common staircase and a car park in the basement. The structure developed cracks along the common staircase, which is believed to have led to the collapse.

Construction workers on the third floor jumped off when the rumbling began. Most of the dead were found in the basement, victims of huge slabs of debris that came crashingdown on them.

One of the survivors, Rajender, recounted, “I was working when I heard a strange sound. It was as though something was being torn apart from the inside.

My immediate reaction was to jump. I remember that the others who were working with me were also jumping off. But they are not here now.” He suffered minor injuries and was given first-aid.

Four cranes, five fire tenders and several ambulances were stationed at the site. Rescue operations involving removal of the debris were interrupted at around 2 pm by faint screams of a woman being heard from the basement.

The cranes backed off and rescue workers began scooping out chunks of debris with their bare hands. Soon, the woman’s legs could be seen. An hour later, she was rescued and rushed to hospital.

Four more bodies were recovered from the heaps of concrete. All four were found clinging to each other. The site attracted a crowd of 500 bystanders, who turned unruly at regular intervals and had to be controlled by the police forcestationed there.

Members of prominent political parties in the area turned out in large numbers, and spent time trading charges for the increase in the number of illegal and, more importantly, substandard constructions in the area.

A resident of the area told The Indian Express, “Most of the buildings under construction here are illegal. The builders get permits to build double-storeyed houses and as many storeys as they want. The material used for construction is also of cheap quality. The authorities seem to be hand-in-glove with the builders. The owner of Yash Apartments owns nine other buildings in the area. The flats located in the other buildings have already been allotted.” District authorities said that the labourers were mostly from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Amongst those injured are Meena, Ramkali, Jogeshwar, Kailash, Jaidevi and 18-month-old Sonu.

Seven of the dead have been identified as Shatrughan, Pankaj, Vijender, Haripujan, Bhushan, Ajay and Hakimuddin.