Junagadh: Four persons, including two children aged 13 and 7 and their father, were killed on Monday when a two-storey dilapidated building collapsed in Gujarat's Junagadh city, officials said. A search and rescue operation to locate more people who may be trapped under the rubble was underway.
The building on Datar Road collapsed at around 1 pm, the incident came two days after the city saw very heavy rains that caused widespread flooding. The four bodies were extricated from the debris after an effort of five hours, a police official said. The deceased included an autorickshaw driver and his two sons, and a 52-year-old man who ran a tea shop at the dilapidated building.
The autorickshaw driver, identified as Sanjay Dabhi (33), was sitting in the three-wheeler along with his sons Tarun (13) and Daksh (7) when the incident occurred. His wife survived as she was away to buy vegetables, police said, adding that the other deceased is identified as Subhash Tanna. "Despite efforts, we, unfortunately, could not save anybody. So far we have recovered four bodies. Efforts are on to search and rescue if anyone is trapped under the debris," said Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasamsetty.
Collector Anil Ranavasiya said the call regarding the building collapse was received at around 1:10 pm, and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) already present in the city in view of torrential rains were mobilised. Teams of police and fire brigade personnel as well as local people joined the effort to remove the rubble. Junagadh Municipal Corporation officials said notices were issued to vacate 185 dilapidated houses in the city but no concrete action has been taken so far.
According to official sources, the building that collapsed was a heritage structure and had been subject to regular inspections. Surprisingly, despite the routine checks conducted by the estate department of the corporation, the building gave way suddenly, catching everyone off guard. Notably, the building had not received any prior notice of instability from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
Also Read: Bhiwandi building collapse: Death toll reaches 8, rescue halted
The Mayor of Junagadh, along with a team of 500 dedicated individuals, was engaged in the rescue work, attempting to find and save anyone trapped in the rubble. As the rescue operations continued, heavy equipment such as JCBs were brought in to aid in the clearance of debris from the collapsed building on Datar Road.
