JOIN US6 dead, 14 rescued in Bellary building collapse
However, unofficial sources put the toll at eight. Rescue work by police, Fire Brigade and other officers continued all thorugh Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
Rudre Gowda, a student who was a resident of the BCM hostel next to the collapsed building, died as a portion of building fell on the hostel. Many are feared still trapped under the collapsed building.
A unit of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Pune with 102 men arrived at the spot at 10.30 am and they are being assisted by 40 men of the Fire Brigade, 20 from the Jindal disaster team and 20 people troopers of Madras Engineering Group (MEG). Two trained sniffer dogs have also been pressed into service.
Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy who visited the spot said the building collapsed as safety rules were neglected and the builder had neglected to check a soil default before beginning the construction. He said he would discuss with the CM steps to tighten monitoring the quality of work during construction, permissions and other related details. Officials were not monitoring construction work, he observed. He also announced Rs one lakh compensation to the families of the dead. Health Minister B Sriramulu said that till 3 pm, eight persons had been rescued, and five bodies had been extricated from the debris. One of the victims, Mohammad Ali had been pinned down by a big beam, and he would have to be rescued only by amputating his arm.
SP Seemanth Kumar Singh said a special task force had been formed for the investigation and a case will be registered against engineer Somashekar who had taken up the building construction work.
Deputy Commissioner Shivappa said the collapse exposed unsatisfactory quality of the work and revealed that a case would be registered against the owner, Suresh and the Assistant Executive Engineer of the city corporation for dereliction of duty. The officers concerned would also be placed under suspension. Shivappa said that police had been directed to file criminal cases.
Compensation
Chief Minister Yeddyurappa on Wednesday announced Rs 1 lakh compensation to next to the kin of those died in a building collapse in Bellary. Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for the tragic incident, he added.