New Delhi: Three people, including a child, died and several others were injured after a dilapidated building in Gujarat’s Jamnagar collapsed on Friday, news agency ANI reported. “Three people died and five were injured in a building collapse in Sadhana colony today. The Gujarat Housing Board had repeatedly warned people against living in this apartment building as it had been declared unsafe. Search and rescue operation underway,” ANI quoted DN Modi, Municipal Commissioner as saying.
According to police, the exact cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained. However, initial investigations suggest that the building’s deteriorating condition could be the reason behind the incident.
“The rescue team had removed seven persons buried under the debris and sent them to the government hospital in Jamnagar. Three of them, including a child aged between 8-10 years, died while undergoing treatment,” Hindustan Times quoted Jamnagar SP Premsukh Delu as saying.
READ | Coaches, Parents Of Young Wrestlers Demand Withdrawal Of Trials Exemption For Sakshi Malik, 5 Others
The deceased were identified as Jaypal Swadia (35), Mittal Swadia (35) and Shivraj (4). "Each block of this colony has 12 flats. It was built nearly 30 to 35 years ago. At around 6 pm, a half of a block with six flats suddenly collapsed," news agency PTI quoted local MLA Divyesh Akbari as saying.
Local authorities said the rescue operation is underway and they fear that more people might be buried under the debris. They have also initiated a probe into the building collapse, and said they would find out if there has been any potential negligence or structural deficiencies.