2 labourers die after two-storey house collapses in Rupnagar
Two workers are still believed to be trapped inside the debris, while one has been referred to PGI, Chandigarh
Two labourers died while two are still believed to be trapped under the debris after a two-storey house collapsed in Preet Colony in Rupnagar on Thursday, police said. A third labourer was rescued and has been referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Three labourers have been pulled out of the rubble, of which two have died, while the third has been referred to PGI-Chandigarh. The deceased labourers have been identified as Nazim and Ramesh, Rupnagar district administration officials said.
The incident took place when six labourers were engaged in the process of raising the level of the house, officials said.
A loud explosion was heard when the building caved in. House owner Rajinder Kaur said they had built this house in 1984 and were doing the work of lifting the lintel of the house.
The Rupnagar DC Preeti Yadav, and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gulneet Khurana, rushed to the spot and started the rescue work.
“The under-construction house, located in Preet Colony, collapsed in the afternoon at around 3 pm. The district administration immediately contacted teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to start rescue operations. We are providing all the support inputs to NDRF and SDRF teams,” DC Yadav said.
She added that an inquiry would be conducted after the rescue operations are completed.
“A thorough investigation will be conducted to ascertain the cause of the incident. Currently, our priority is to rescue the labourers trapped under the debris,” the DC said.
Giving details of the rescue operations, an official said that the teams of NDRF, SDRF, Punjab Police and fire brigade are trying to locate the labourers.
