Personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services department during the rescue operation at Maharani's Women's Science College, on Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Road, in Mysuru.
Credit: DH Photo/Anup Ragh T
Mysuru: After a 9 hour-long relentless search and rescue operation, the body of a worker trapped under the debris of a portion of the old building of Maharani's Women's Science College in Mysuru, Karnataka was traced at around 1.45 am and taken out by 2 am on the wee hours of Wednesday.
The building, located on Jhansi Lakshmi Bai (JLB) Road in Mysuru, collapsed during its restoration work on Tuesday evening, around 4.55 pm.
More than 100 personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services department, the Police department, the Mysore City Corporation, and members of the NGO Humanitarian Relief Society carried out the operation to clear the debris with an intention of rescuing the worker alive.
Saddam, 32, a resident of Ajeejsait Nagar in Mysuru, is the deceased.
His body, which was severed into two parts from the waist after a slab had fallen on him, was shifted to the mortuary of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, HRS NGO member Mohammed Najeeb told DH.
His wife Aisha, 7-year-old and 2-year-old daughters, 2 brothers, 3 sisters and hundreds of relatives who braved cold weather and dust which had enveloped for over 500 meters in the surrounding area, and waited near the college gate with the hopes of Saddam being rescued alive went distraught hearing the news.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah laid the foundation stone for the restoration work of this building on November 13, 2024. The tender holder began the restoration work 4 days ago. Thirteen workers were removing the doors and windows on the first floor of the building. While they worked from 9 am to 5 pm, 10 other workers had come out. The building collapsed when three workers had gone inside to pull out the windows. While two of them rushed out on hearing a strange noise, Saddam was stuck inside.
The restoration of the 108-year-old Maharani's Women's Science College has been taken up at a cost of Rs 54 crore.