2 BURIED ALIVE AS BUILDING CAVES IN

Two persons were buried alive, including a retired government employee, and a labourer after a 50- year- old house caved in during renovation work in Taimur Nagar area of Okhla on Friday morning. The owner of building, Dhruv Kumar, and a worker, Kishan Mandal, died, while another worker, Mintu Mandal, was rescued from the debris. Local police along with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority ( DDMA), the National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF) and municipal corporation staff rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation after receiving a call at 9.45 a. m. “The walls had become weaker due to rains in the last season. They were planning to renovate the entire compound,” said Shakir Malik, a friend of the owner. An official of National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF) said they received a call about the collapse around 9.30am. Three three fire tenders, police and District Disaster Management Authority ( DDMA) officials rushed to the spot. “The labourer was traced at 11.20am and the other victim was found at 12.10pm,” said an NDRF official who led the rescue operation. “We were hired to bring down the inner walls of the building. The owner had come to inspect the progress. I saw the bricks coming down and was trapped for a few minutes before people rescued me. The owner and Kishan were on the other side of the room and got trapped badly,” said Mr Mintu Mandal, who suffered minor injuries.