China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Two die in Bengaluru building collapse
At least two people were killed and several more were trapped after an incomplete five-story building collapsed in India’s technology hub of Bengaluru on Wednesday, officials said.
The residential building, which had been under construction for several months, was located in the city’s Bellandur neighbourhood, home to upscale apartment blocks, hostels and offices companies.
The area, which surrounds a lake of the same name and flanks a major ring road, has experienced a construction boom in recent years.
Rescue officials at the scene said a security guard working at an adjacent building had been killed and that three construction workers remained trapped late on Wednesday.
Apolice inspector later told Reuters by telephone that a 24-year-old construction of technology worker had also been killed. It was not clear whether he was one of the three trapped workers. At least four people had been pulled from under the debris.
One of the men rescued, who gave his name as Bishnu, said he was a tiler from the West Bengal region. He said he was working on the fourth floor when the building collapsed sideways.
From a sleepy retirement center known as the Garden City in the 1990s, Bengaluru has grown to become a sprawling metropolis of 10 million that houses major offices of many international technology companies.
“We pulled out one person whose leg was stuck inside the debris,” said Adid Inamdar, a manager at a nearby hotel, who ran through clouds of dust to reach the scene.
“We could only see the back of another person. We removed the concrete blocks above him and he was bleeding profusely. His head was severely damaged.”