Greater Noida roof collapse death toll touches four; builder arrested

Victims’ families alleged the collapse took place after the workers were allegedly forced to dismantle the shuttering despite them warning the owner against it

Greater Noida: A day after the roof at a three-storey under-construction house collapsed in Rabupura, Greater Noida, police arrested its 55-year-old contractor Manoj Maheshwari and booked its owners as the death toll swelled to four on Thursday, with two others injured, said police, adding that a rescued operation that was launched was called off early morning.

At the hospital, where all injured and the deceased were taken, a hospital administration official Ravi Solanki said on Thursday, “They were crushed to death. Zeeshan was admitted at 2.45 pm, and the other three were brought dead to the hospital.” (HT Photos)

The four deceased comprise Shakir, 38, Kamil, 20, Zeeshan, 22, and Nadeem, 25, all residents of Jewar. The three, who were rescued late Wednesday night but were later declared brought dead at a private hospital.

At the hospital, where all injured and the deceased were taken, a hospital administration official Ravi Solanki said on Thursday, “They were crushed to death. Zeeshan was admitted at 2.45 pm, and the other three were brought dead to the hospital.”

On Wednesday, around 11.50am, as the workers were carrying out work on the third floor, its roof collapsed, said police.

According to police, multiple teams including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Noida Police and the fire department were involved in the rescue operation, which lasted nearly 16 hours, ending on Thursday at 5am.

Police identified 11 people at the site, which included nine workers and their two kids.

Seven injured were identified as, Danish, 21, and Fardeen, 18. Rahees, 27, Umesh, 24, Sitara, 22, and two children, one aged two-year-old and the other aged 10. According to the police, they were treated were later relieved from hospital.

“The deceased include the three people who were recovered from the debris during the later stage of the rescue operation,” said assistant commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Sarthak Sengar.

Chief fire officer (Gautam Budh Nagar) Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, said, “We arrived at around 12 pm to assist with the rescue. Some people had been rescued even before that. We had to cut the third floor, cut the second floor, and only then could we rescue the rest of the workers. After that, one or two who were trapped slightly deeper were rescued first, followed by the two others, whose rescue operation lasted longer.”

Victims’ families alleged the collapse took place after the workers were allegedly forced to dismantle the shuttering despite them warning the owner against it.

Zeeshan’s uncle Muhammad Zakir, said, “The owner pressured the workers to remove the shuttering quickly so that he could get the plastering done and also the property registered with the administration. They refused, but he didn’t listen. He forced them to open it. As they began opening it, the incident happened. The upper slab was still wet and the second floor’s shuttering was removed from underneath.”

Police said the deaths were a result of non-compliance with safety standards, use of substandard and low-quality construction material, and carrying out construction work without any safety arrangements.

Meanwhile, the Rabupura police have registered the case under the BNS 105 section related to punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder against owners Mahavir Singh, his son Gaurav, and his wife Rajbala Singh.