Three children killed, four women injured as building collapses in Ghaziabad
Officials said along with the police teams, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was also deployed at the site to rescue the trapped people
Three children were killed and four women injured after a two-storey building collapsed on Saturday in Ghaziabad’s Loni, police said, adding that the cause for the collapse is still being ascertained.
According to police, the incident took place around 11am on Saturday in Loni’s Roop Nagar area. While some residents of the neighbourhood said a LPG cylinder blast triggered the collapse, police said there were others who alleged that the building was being used for the illegal manufacture of firecrackers. An inquiry is under way to ascertain the cause, said investigators.
There were seven people inside the building -- three children and four women -- when the entire structure came crashing down following a loud explosion-like sound, locals told police.
Police said all seven people were trapped under the debris and were rescued after a three-hour operation by police and disaster rescue personnel on Saturday afternoon.
“When our teams reached the spot, the entire building had collapsed, and we were told by locals that seven people were trapped under the debris. After a three-hour search operation, all seven people were rescued and were rushed a local health centre for medical aid,”said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).
Officials said along with the police teams, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was also deployed at the site to rescue the trapped people.
Police identified the seven as Shaista Parveen (36) and her two daughters Alisha (15) and Alina (14); Noori (18) who is wife of Zafir Mohammad; Geeta Devi (30); Mohammad Imran (15) and Mehwis Khatoon (38).
“Two people --Alisha and Imran -- died on Saturday afternoon while the remaining injured were referred to GTB Hospital in Delhi for further treatment. Alina succumbed to injuries late Saturday evening,” said Rajneesh Kumar Upadhyaya, assistant commissioner of police (Loni).
According to DCP Yadav, an inquiry is underway, and the field unit has also collected evidence from the site after some residents claimed that the house collapsed following a LPG cylinder blast. “However, there were some people from the neighbourhood who alleged that the building was being used for the illegal manufacture of firecrackers,” the DCP said.
Mohammad Farman, who lives nearby, said he saw a huge cloud of smoke billowing out of the building and rushed to the spot.
“I had heard that there was some manufacturing of firecrackers going on there. Three of the injured are from one family and came there to work. They live on a street nearby,” Farman said.
The police till late Saturday evening remained tight-lipped about the activity going on in the building and said the matter is being probed; the prime eyewitnesses, they said, were in hospital.
ACP Upadhyaya identified the building owner as Mohammad Imran.
“Imran had given the building on rent to Mohammad Shariq, who remains untraceable.He has not come forward since the incident. Our teams are trying to trace him to know about the activity going on in the building and why the local women and children were called there,” the ACP said, adding that police are also considering filing an FIR into the incident.
Arun Dixit, subdivisional magistrate of Loni, said,“Roop Nagar is basically an industrial area but over a period of time, many houses have come up there. The police are investigating the cause of the incident.”
