1 dead, 6 feared trapped in Guj building collapse

AHMEDABAD: A labourer was killed, two were injured and at least six others are feared to be trapped after a dilapidated fourstorey building, owned by engineering major Larsen & Toubro, collapsed in Chhani area here on Saturday afternoon, the police said.

Teams of Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s fire department and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are carrying out rescue operations.

The incident happened when labourers were bringing down the building and some 15 labourers were present at the site.

So far, two severely injured persons have been rescued from the debris.

“We have recovered one dead body, while another person was rescued...,” deputy commissioner of police Sandeep Chaudhary was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“The building was empty. Nearly half of it collapsed,” he added.

Vadodara Municipal Commissioner N B Upadhyay said: “The dilapidated building was not safe. It was vacant and an evacuation notice was served to the owners by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation. During the demolition, around 3 pm, the front part of the building suddenly collapsed.”

“The fire brigade team, police and senior VMC officials are on the spot with the latest equipment to save lives,” said Vadodara Mayor Dr Jigeeshaben Sheth.

In a statement, L&T said it was “saddened by the unfortunate event”.

“We are surprised that the contractor initiated demolition work without following laiddown processes and contract conditions.

“We have also initiated an enquiry about the incident,” it said.