A woman died after she was pulled out from the debris of a four-storey building that collapsed in the Sohana village of Punjab's Mohali district on Saturday. Drishti Verma, 20, a native of Theog, Himachal Pradesh was rescued from the rubble in critical condition and was rushed to Sohana Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
At least five people were stuck under the rubble after the building collapsed. Several excavators were pressed into service as part of the rescue operation. A National Disaster Response Team (NDRF) team was also a part of the rescue operation. An ambulance, along with a medical team was also deployed to the site, according to PTI. Rescue operations by Indian Army personnel and NDRF continued on Sunday.
On Saturday, Viraj S Tidke, officiating deputy commissioner, all major hospitals in the city, such as Civil Hospital, Fortis, Max and Sohana, were put on alert to cater to the wounded. He also said, required equipment and machinery were made available to the rescuers in addition to those brought by the NDRF and army.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in a post on X, "Sad news has been received that a multistorey building near Sohana in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) has collapsed. The entire administration and other rescue teams have been deployed at the spot. I am in constant touch with the administration".
"We pray that there is no loss of life, we will also take action against the culprits. Appeal to the people to cooperate with the administration," he added.
Preliminary information suggests the building, which also had a gym, collapsed due to digging in an adjacent plot. A gym member said she escaped the collapse as she skipped her session on Saturday.
Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang and Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh reached the spot to oversee the rescue work.