Delhi building collapse: Race on to rescue survivors

[Sachinism]

Rescuers have been using their bare hands as they scramble to save up to 30 residents feared trapped in the rubble of a collapsed Delhi building. At least 64 people died when the five-storey block crumbled in a busy eastern district of the city on Monday. Emergency services have had difficulty reaching the site in the narrow lanes of the Lalita Park residential area. Indian officials said flooding and heavy monsoon rain may have weakened the building's foundations. "The scale of the tragedy is unprecedented," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit told the Press Trust of India news agency. Neighbours clawed at the piles of rubble with their bare hands before they were joined by police and firefighters, who used machine tools to cut through the wreckage. Police sniffer dogs are trying to find up to 30 people feared trapped under the debris. Some residents complained that police and firefighters had taken too long to reach the site after the building crashed down. Girija Devi, a mother of four who worked at a tailoring shop in the building, told AFP news agency that neighbours had pulled her from the debris. 'Pack of cards' "But my sister is still trapped below," she said. Investigators are trying to trace the building's owner, who was said to have absconded. One teenager told Indian media he had been walking home when he saw the block crumble with his family inside. "The entire building collapsed within seconds as if it was made of sand," 18-year-old Niranjan told the Press Trust of India. The mostly residential building, which also included some small businesses, was located close to the Yamuna river. Officials say it may have been weakened by recent floods which caused the river to burst its banks. Yoginder Chandolia, a city official, told AP news agency: "During the recent flood, water reached the building's foundation and weakened it considerably, resulting in the collapse." The block collapsed at about 2015 (1445 GMT) on Monday. "It fell like a pack of cards. I saw people high up hanging on to remaining bits of the walls. Some were trying to jump out but they couldn't. Others were trapped," Gurwinder Singh, a taxi driver, told the AFP news agency. The congested Lalita Park area is home to millions of migrant workers who come to Delhi from their impoverished villages for work. One report said nearly 200 people living in the building that collapsed. "This is cheap accommodation for a lot of them," city official Deep Mathur told the Associated Press news agency. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11761284

[beetle]

RIP

[Sir john]

from last two days in delhi too many deaths 4 killed in Noida accidents Four persons, including a head constable of Delhi police, were killed in different accidents since Sunday evening in the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida. The first incident took place near Sector 37 crossing. An unknown autorickshaw hit the five-year-old boy. He was going with his mother to do shopping. He got critically injured and was rushed to Delhi hospital where he died on Sunday night. Another accident was reported from the Noida Extension area under Greater Noida. A speeding truck hit the biker. The injured biker was identified as Hukum Singh who was head constable in Delhi police and resident of Greater Noida. He died on the way to hospital. Irate mob blocked the traffic on the Noida Extension road for three hours on Monday. At Dadri, two women crossing the railway line were hit by the Rajdhani Express. A police team sent the bodies for postmortem. Till late Monday evening, the bodies could not be identified.

[ravishingravi]

The four-storey building collapse in East Delhi has claimed 66 lives and left 130 injured in one of the worst such disasters in the capital, as massive rescue operations were on on Tuesday to pull out those trapped under the debris. "Sixty-six people have died and about 130 have been admitted to various hospitals of the capital with a major chunk being at the LNJP," Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said. Forty-one bodies have been taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), 16 to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, six to Hedgewar Hospital and three to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Over 60 families, mostly labourers from West Bengal, were living in the cramped quarters of the 15-year-old building, where an illegal fifth floor was under construction. The entire structure came crashing down around 8.15 pm on Monday at Lalita Park in Laxmi Nagar. Police and fire officials said at least 10 people are still trapped under the debris. Rescue operation Rescue workers from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire department, police, civil defence and locals had worked overnight to remove tons of concrete from the spot and find trapped people. A 250-member disaster management team has been deployed to help in rescue effort. Inquiry ordered A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Urban Development Minister A K Walia said authorities are looking into how the building was allowed to come up and prima facie it seems that proximity to the river Yamuna and water-logging were the reasons. The civic body was told to begin the survey on Tuesday and based on it take necessary action, including evacuation of people. Compensation While Rs two lakh ex-gratia will be given to families which have lost an adult member, Rs one lakh will be given in case of death of a child. Also, Rs one lakh will be given to each of those injured, officials said. Govt promises action Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Lieutenant Governor Tejindra Khanna said strict action would be taken against those found guilty for the incident. "Strict action would be taken against the builder and all those who are guilty," Dikshit said. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the builder and building owner Amrit Singh, who is absconding. A senior police official said the case has been registered against under section 304 of Indian Penal Code. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/3/2010111720101117024533022e79078b/Delhi-collapse-toll-mounts-to-66.html