NE NEWS SERVICE
SURAT, JULY 6
One person died, while several people are feared trapped under the debris after a six-storey building collapsed in Surat’s Sachin Pali village amid several days of incessant rains. One woman was pulled out alive from under the debris, while 15 people have been injured in the incident, officials said.
The building had 30 apartments, of which five were occupied.
Horrifying visuals from the spot showed what remained of the building that was built just eight years ago – large chunks of concrete slabs lay on top of the other in a mountain of debris.
Surat district collector Sourabh Pardhi said one woman was pulled out alive from the debris, while the search and rescue operation was still on.
“We learnt that four to five flats in the building were occupied. One woman has been rescued. Four to five people are still feared trapped underneath. Search and rescue operations are ongoing with the help of NDRF and SDRF. We are hopeful that the operation will end in a couple of hours,” he said.
Five families were inside the building when it collapsed this afternoon, spiking fears of several being trapped in the concrete rubble.
The police and fire department officials rushed to the spot and launched an operation to look for those trapped and rescue them. Visuals showed rescue officials climbing through the wreckage, looking for life under it. By late evening, they pulled out a body.
A National Disaster Response Force team has been called in to help with the rescue work.
According to the officials, although not much old, the building was dilapidated, and most flats were vacant.
