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Kannauj building collapse: 6 of 28 rescued seriously injured, CCTV clip of mishap surfaces | Top updates
Eyewitnesses said a 150-foot-long, 45-foot-wide slab was being laid at 20 feet. The scaffolding was allegedly unhinged, causing the structure to collapse.
At least 28 people were rescued after a building being constructed under the Centre's Amrit Bharat scheme collapsed at the railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj on Saturday. While six of the rescued people were seriously injured, officials said they were out of danger.
Personnel from the state police, RPF, and SDRF continued to clear the rubble on Sunday as well, searching for survivors, using sniffer dogs, drones, and other equipment.
CCTV visuals capture incident
Purported CCTV visuals said to be of the incident surfaced on social media, showing the under-construction building collapsing like a pack of cards when a labourer approached it.
Eyewitnesses told HT that a 150-foot-long, 45-foot-wide slab was being laid at a height of 20 feet. The station-side scaffolding was allegedly unhinged, causing the structure to collapse.
Panna Lal, a worker who escaped unhurt, said half of the slab had been laid, and four to five workers were managing the bamboo and iron scaffolds near the station's entrance. “Suddenly, the structure began crumbling at this end. Within minutes, the entire slab came down. I was in the corner and ran out as there were screams all around,” he said.
Six people have escaped unhurt from the incident.
Top updates on Kannauj railway station incident
- An under-construction building at the Kannauj railway station collapsed on Saturday afternoon, trapping around two dozen workers under the rubble. According to preliminary information, the incident occurred when the under-construction shuttering of the roof collapsed," news agency PTI quoted District Magistrate (DM) Shubhrant Kumar Shukl as saying. Roof shuttering is a temporary structure that supports concrete while it sets.
- Union minister for railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that an inquiry has been initiated into the incident. “A very tragic incident has occurred, and immediate action has been taken. An inquiry committee has also been set up there,” he said.
- The North Eastern Railway said it had constituted a three-member committee to probe the incident.
- UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had assured action against those found guilty.
- Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav said the incident is a case of the ruling BJP's “negligence and corruption.” He also alleged that the contract to complete the work was outsourced twice due to pressure exerted by BJP leaders.
- “The contractors have to compromise with quality, and there are inadequate safety measures. Quality has deteriorated, and as a result, such incidents are taking place. This is a failure from the government side. We demand that the government should ensure all the medical facilities and other facilities for all the victims. We demand maximum aid to these workers,” news agency ANI quoted the Samajwadi Party chief as saying.
- Congress leader and former union minister P Chidambaram on Sunday said the incident reflects the poor quality of infrastructure being built in the country.
- “All governments celebrate spending on public infrastructure as 'investment' and ‘growth’ It is partly true. This investment increases the growth rate (GDP %) of the country or state But, it is the quality of the infrastructure that determines whether that investment is growth or waste,” said the Congress leader in a post on X.
