Building hit by car collapses, killing 10
new delhi — Ten people have died after a car crashed into a dilapidated building in Madhya Pradesh and brought down the near century-old structure, burying them beneath rubble, police said on Sunday.
The freak accident in Indore on Saturday evening is the latest building disaster in a country infamous for poor construction and safety standards.
The driver lost control of his vehicle and struck a pillar holding up the near 100-year-old structure, said police deputy inspector general Harinarayanchari Mishra.
“The impact was such that the entire building collapsed,” he said.
“Rescue workers pulled out 12 people from the rubble, 10 of them were already dead. The other two are being treated in hospital.”
The three-storey hotel-cumlodge, located near the Sarvate Bus Stand in a congested commercial area, came crashing down around 10pm.
Images from the scene showed battered and bloodied corpses being pulled from twisted piles of brick and concrete. The rubble was being cleared with cranes and industrial equipment.
Indore Municipal Corporation commissioner Manish Singh was asked why the building was not declared as dangerous and no steps taken to evacuate the premises in time.
To this, Singh said: “The hotel building was old. Its construction technique was also old. But its owner had tried to make it look spic and span by keeping it well painted and decorated from outside.
“It has come to light that some repair work was going on inside the building for the last few days and that just before the mishap, a wall of the building collapsed following which the entire structure came crashing down,” he said.
He said the civic body was trying to find out as to how much illegal construction had been done in the premises by its owner.
The incident was also captured on a CCTV, the video of which has gone viral on social media.
The CCTV footage, which is of a few seconds, purportedly shows the building collapsing and some two and four-wheel vehicles getting trapped under the rubble.
Following the collapse, there was a huge cloud of dust and debris in the area, as per the footage.
Four of those who died in the mishap were identified as Rakesh Rathore, 26, Raju Sen, 40, Anand Porwal, 27 and Harish Soni, 65. The identities of the other six deceased, including the two women, were yet to be established.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the death of people in the incident. He announced a compensation of Rs200,000 each to the kin of the deceased and Rs50,000 each to those injured in the mishap, an official of the Public Relations Department said.
Building disasters are common in Indian cities where millions are forced to live in cramped, rundown properties due to spiralling real estate prices and a lack of proper housing.
Activists say owners often cut
The hotel building was old .... But its owner had tried to make it look spic and span by keeping it well painted and decorated from outside.
Manish Singh, Indore Municipal Corporation commissioner
corners on construction to save costs with little regard to safety.
Some 30 people perished in September last year when a 117-yearold apartment building collapsed in India’s financial hub of Mumbai.
And in 2013, 60 people were killed when a residential block came crashing down in one of the country’s worst housing disasters.