3 killed, 11 hurt as building collapses in Kengeri

Mangalore Today/Hindu

Bangalore, August 19, 2013:  Three workers were killed and 11 injured when a building under construction collapsed in Kengeri Satellite Town on Monday morning.

The labourers were constructing a three-storey marriage hall at Bandeswamy Math in Kommagatta. The moulding of the second floor’s ceiling was under way when it collapsed. At least 25 workers were on the roof when the accident occurred at around 10 a.m. Some workers fell from the roof while others on the ground floor were trapped under the debris.

Fire and Emergency Services personnel along with advanced rescue vehicles rushed minutes after the collapse. Officials said three bodies had been removed from the debris while a few injured workers were taken to nearby hospitals.

 

Labourers at the site said over 100 workers from Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were at work for the last six months. Some 70 workers were on the ground floor mixing cement and doing other work. Some 25 workers were on the roof. Lalchand (30), one of the labourers injured, told The Hindu: “All I remember is that the building collapsed and I was trapped under the debris till some people pulled me out.” The injured were rushed to Rajarajeshwari hospital and Shreya hospital nearby.

The victims have been identified as Venkateshappa (40) from Andhra Pradesh, Shivanna (25) from Gulbarga and Sumit Mondal Khapari (24) from Bihar. Shivanna, who was laying the concrete on the roof, came plummeting down while the other two workers were working on the centring and were trapped underneath the debris.

Police suspect a weak centring led to the collapse. A senior official said the centring was built of wood for a height of 25 feet.

This rendered the building unstable, they said. It was a serious case of negligence on the part of the building authorities, the police added. It is owned by the Eka Bilva Bande Veerashaiva Math.

Cases have been booked under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against contractor Krishnamurthy, centring supervisor Murthy, engineer Jagannath Rao and Sachidananda Swami of the Math. Murthy and Krishnamurthy have been arrested.



Multi-storey building collapses in Bangalore, many hurt


In yet another instance of an under-construction building collapsing in Bangalore, at least five labourers were injured when the ground floor of a five-storeyed structure caved in at Someshwara Nagar on Monday.

 

In yet another instance of an under-construction building collapsing in Bangalore, at least five labourers were injured when the ground floor of a five-storeyed structure caved in at Someshwara Nagar on Monday.

The Fire and Emergency service personnel rushed to the spot and launched operations to clear the debris. The collapse of the ground floor had tilted the upper floors of the structure and endangered the neighbouring buildings, police said.

The building, proposed to house an apartment complex, is situated in a narrow lane in the residential area behind NIMHANS.

Police officials said they are planning to demolish the structure, but would do so only after ensuring that no labourers are trapped under the debris.

Shiva Kumar, a neighbour, said that he came out of his house after hearing a crashing sound followed by cries. “I rushed to the building and saw the pillars had crashed and dust had engulfed the entire area.”

The police are looking out for the owner of the building, Saleem, and the contractor to ascertain the exact number of labourers working there.

Hanumesh, a labourer, said he rushed out soon after the mishap. He also said around 50 labourers were working on the building at that time.

Police say usage of sub-standard material could have led to the mishap.

Even as the Fire Force personnel dig up a tunnel to look for labourers trapped underneath, preliminary inquiry has revealed that the owner had secured permission only for constructing a three-storeyed building.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has suspended its Executive Engineer and Assistant Executive Engineer of the area, pending an inquiry.

A BBMP team is assisting the fire force personnel in diging a tunnel to search for the people feared to have been trapped. "We have no other option", said a fire force personnel.

The officials pointed out that the building is so weak that they will have to pull it down. "We are asking people in the vicinity to vacate their houses to facilitate the operation", the officials added.

But, the residents have protested against the move. " Where shall we go all of a sudden? The authorities should provide us alternative arrangements", a neighbour, Poornima, said.

The Minister in charge of Bangalore, R. Ramlinga Reddy, visited the spot.