Four of family die after roof collapses in Amritsar

A VEGETABLE VENDOR, HIS WIFE AND THEIR TWIN SON AND DAUGHTER DIED IN

THE INCIDENT; 7-YR-OLD NEHA, COUPLE’S ELDER DAUGHTER, WAS ONLY SURVIVOR

AMRITSAR:A couple and their sixmonth-old twins died when the roof of their house collapsed following a hailstorm and heavy rain at Moole Chak village near Bhagtanwala grain market on outskirts of Amritsar early on Friday.

Police said Ajay Kumar, 38, a vegetable vendor, his wife Manvi, 37, and their twin son and daughter died in the incident.

Ajay’s elder daughter, Naina, 7, was injured. She has been hospitalised.

The two-room house was built over 70 square feet and was an old construction, the police said.

The family was sleeping in one room when the incident occurred around 1.30am, neighbours said.

Fire brigade and police teams reached the spot and with the help of locals, they carried out the rescue operation. The victims were taken to the civil hospital here, where doctors declared them brought dead.

“The house was old and roof leaked, however, financial condition of Ajay did not allow him to get it repaired. He repaired the roof himself every time it leaked,” said neighbour Harjit Singh.

Residents of the area has stepped up to take care of victim’s eldest daughter, who has been hospitalised.

“She will be given best medical treatment,” said Amritsar deputy commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon. Deputy commissioner of police Jagmohan Singh said they are getting postmortem of the bodies done and then they will look into the reasons behind the roof collapse.

Notably, many old buildings in walled city area pose similar threat and could collapse any time.