Surat Building Collapse: Death Toll Reaches 7, Rescue Operation Underway

National Disaster Response Force Inspector Babulal Yadav said that seven bodies had been retrieved from the debris while one person who was alive was also rescued.

Seven dead bodies have been recovered after a multi-storey residential building collapsed in Surat on Saturday. (Image Source: PTI)

Source : PTI

Rescue operations were underway on the second day after a multi-storey building collapsed in the Sachin area of Gujarat's Surat on Saturday. The building collapsed due to heavy rain for several days in the region. Seven dead bodies have been recovered so far, said Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Parmar. 

"Rescue operation has been going on for 12 hours. One woman has been saved and 7 dead bodies have been recovered and sent for post-mortem... We are clearing the debris...," the police official told ANI. 

National Disaster Response Force Inspector Babulal Yadav said that seven bodies had been retrieved from the debris while one person who was alive was also rescued.

#WATCH | Gujarat: Rescue operation underway in Sachin area of Surat where a four-floor building collapsed, yesterday.

According to police, three bodies have been retrieved while several people are feared trapped inside. pic.twitter.com/nbgwwfqCy7

— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2024

 "... We got information of the collapse of a 5-storey building and that some people are trapped in the debris... 7 bodies have been retrieved and one live person was also retrieved. Operation is going on... We cannot specify how many more victims are trapped, but the number can increase...," Yadav said while speaking to the news agency. 

The building collapsed at around 2:45 pm on Saturday after which search and rescue operations were launched and the body of a man was pulled out from the rubble. 

The building was constructed in 2016-17 said Surat police commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot.

The top cop said that around five flats were occupied, mostly by those who work in factories in this area. "we heard the cries of those trapped. We rescued a woman from the rubble and sent her to hospital. Later, the dead body of a man was recovered," said Gehlot on Saturday.