Seven Dead, Seven Injured in Bengaluru Building Collapse

Seven people were killed after a residential building in central Bengaluru’s Ejipura collapsed on Monday, 16 October. Seven others, including a 3-year-old, were injured in the collapse. The condition of some of them is said to be serious.

The collapse took place around 6.40am, when three families were residing in the building were still inside. Residents in the area claimed they heard a blast, following which the building collapsed. However, police are yet to confirm whether a cylinder blast was the cause of the collapse or a blast took place after the collapse.

Cylinders on both ground and first floor had no gas in them, so it is unlikely that the buildings collapsed due to the blast.

Ramalinga Reddy, Karnataka Home Minister

Rescue operations led by the Karnataka Fire Department are underway.

An first floor building at Eejipura, Bengaluru collapsed. #RescueOperation in process. @RFOEAST_FIRE @KarFireDept pic.twitter.com/pinHi4gxZP

— Karnataka Fire Dept (@KarFireDept) October 16, 2017

In an official statement, the police identified the victims as Sharavana, 31, and his eight-month-pregnant wife, Ashwini, 28; Kalavathi, 68, Ravichandran, 48; Hariprasad, 19; Malashree, 25, and Pavan Kalyan, 18.

Jayakumar, one of the neighbours said that around 6.45am, he heard a sounds of a blast. “When I came out, I could see the building collapse. I called some of the drivers, who were standing on the main road for help, and pulled out two injured people from the debris. We could see more people trapped under heavy debris, so we called the police,” he said.

Chandragupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (central), said although all residents of the building are accounted for, rescue workers are combing through the debris to ensure no one else is trapped inside. “We have brought a dog squad to search through the debris. Apart from that, the bomb disposal squad and other experts are on the spot to verify whether the cylinder blast led to the collapse,” he said.

The Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services and experts from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) conducted a joint search operation. “Most of the injured were rescued by the local residents, our search was for those trapped inside the debris. Our teams had to use heavy machinery to cut through thick debris, and in some parts, we had to use an earth mover,” said a senior Fire Department official.

While the large part of the operation was searching for dead bodies, rescue workers were able to rescue 3-year-old Sanjana – daughter of Sharavana and Ashwini, who died in the collapse – from the debris. The girl survived with minor injuries, officials said.

Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who visited the spot, said that the government would take care of the education expenses of Sanjana. He also announced that the government would provide Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family members of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 to those injured.

BBMP officials said that the building was more 25 years old. As the adjacent buildings have become weak because of the collapse, the BBMP will be demolishing them, the officials added.

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