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Building collapses in Ahmedabad; 3 rescued, 7 feared trapped
Fire brigade teams comprising over 60 members were pressed into rescue operation, the mayor said.
At least seven people are feared trapped under debris after two blocks of a four-storey government colony building for the economically weaker section collapsed in Ahmedabad on Sunday night.
Mayor Bijal Patel told the media that fire brigade teams comprising over 60 members were pressed into rescue operation. Three persons, including a minor girl, were rescued within an hour after the building collapsed in the Odhav area following rains.
Joint Commissioner of Police Ashok Yadav said, “Police teams are assisting fire brigade in the rescue operation. Rescue operation is our priority at the moment.”
“Block numbers 23 and 24 of the 18-year-old building were declared unsafe on Saturday and the occupants were asked to vacate all the floors,” Odhav ward councillor Bharat Patel said. The two collapsed blocks had 32 houses.
“The occupants had moved out, but some of them returned on Sunday evening when it was raining,” he added.
Municipal commission Vijay Nehra said, “Around 150 occupants of the two blocks were evacuated on Saturday. Some of them returned on Sunday for some unknown reasons. We have called NDRF teams from Gandhinagar to expedite the rescue operations.”
Some residents, however, contradicted the administration’s claim that notices were issued on Saturday. They claimed that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation alerted them only on Sunday afternoon, hours before the building collapsed.
“We were asked to move out today around 4 pm. Before the residents could manage to shift, the building collapsed around 9 pm,” said Pravin Sikotia, a resident.
