Five members of a family were killed while sleeping when the roof of their house collapsed late on Friday night at Pandori Gola village in Tarn Taran district, police said on Saturday.
The victims — identified as Gurinder Singh alias Gobinda, 47, his wife Amarjit Kaur, 45, their sons Gurlal Singh, 16, and Gurbaz Singh, 12, and daughter Rajbir Kaur, 15, — were sleeping in their home when the roof, weakened by heavy rains on Friday, gave way and buried them under the debris. All five died on the spot.
The structure of the house was in dilapidated condition, police said.
The incident came to light around 7am on Saturday. “When no one from the family came out in the morning on Saturday, the neighbours knocked on their door but received no response. Growing concerned, some villagers climbed over the house wall and found the entire family trapped under the rubble. The neighbours took them to a hospital where they were declared dead on arrival,” said a police officer.
Gurinder Singh was a daily wage labourer. His daughter, Rajbir Kaur, was a Class 10 student in a local government school, while his younger son, Gurbaz Singh, was in Class 9, police said.
{{/usCountry}}Gurinder Singh was a daily wage labourer. His daughter, Rajbir Kaur, was a Class 10 student in a local government school, while his younger son, Gurbaz Singh, was in Class 9, police said.
{{/usCountry}}Later in the evening, the bodies were cremated in the village.