Two dead, nine injured as under-construction shuttering of building collapses in Ghaziabad’s Loni

Officials said that the construction workers had erected a shuttering to lay the roof of the single-storey building, measuring about 100x40 feet, when at around 4.30pm the entire shuttering, along with the construction material, came crashing down

Two people were killed and nine others injured after a piece of shuttering of an under-construction building collapsed at Roop Nagar industrial area in Ghaziabad’s Loni on Sunday evening, officials said.

Rescue operation underway at Loni in Ghaziabad on Sunday. (PTI)

The injured were rushed for treatment after the rescue operations which went on till late Sunday night, the officials added.

Officials said that the construction workers had erected a shuttering to lay the roof of the single-storey building, measuring about 100x40 feet, when at around 4.30pm the entire shuttering, along with the construction material, came crashing down. Shuttering is a process wherein steel or wooden planks or strips are used as temporary structures to contain setting concrete in a pier.

There were 13 workers at the site during the incident, of which two had escaped and sustained minor injuries, officials said.

“It could be due to lack of support in the middle portion that the entire shuttering and material collapsed. The plot is in form of a large hall, having walls on three sides, along with a main gate on the front side,” said Ravi Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

Teams of police, fire department and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed at the spot following the collapse; two bodies were recovered from the debris, officials said.

The deceased were identified as Sameer and Rajesh. More details about them were yet to ascertained.

“We found two people who died after they got crushed under the debris. One of them is a worker while the other is the labour contractor. Their identification is being ascertained,” the DCP said. “The teams rescued nine people who had sustained injuries and were rushed to different hospitals, including GTB hospital in Delhi.”

One of the two plot owners, Madan Pal Sharma, 70, was among those injured, police said. “Sharma, a resident of Jawli, was also present at the site. Police will interrogate him after he recovers. Legal action will be initiated into the incident,” the DCP added. Details about the second owner were yet to be ascertained , officials said.

Roop Nagar is primarily an industrial area and the plot where the incident took place is located close to a local police post.

“It was about 4.30pm when locals ran to the spot after hearing a loud noise of something falling. The entire shuttering had collapsed and some people at the site also ran out while others got trapped below the debris,” said Naushad (single name), an eyewitness.

Soon after the incident, locals started rescuing those trapped after which a team of the eighth battalion of the NDRF joined in.

“After receiving the incident of the building collapse, our team comprising of 35 personnel reached the spot along with a dog squad at around 6.15pm. Eleven people, including the two deceased, were rescued and our operation is still underway. It is expected to go on for about 4-5 hours more,” said an NDRF spokesperson.

The district administration officials said that the details of the building, its ownership and other required permissions for constructions were awaited.

“The said owner is injured at present and his family is not taking calls. Roop Nagar is an approved industrial area where a large hall was getting constructed. The purpose of the construction is still not known. It will take some time to get details while we are presently focusing on rescue efforts,” said Himanshu Verma, subdivisional magistrate, Loni.