Bellandur building collapse: Two more bodies recovered

BENGALURU: The death toll in the building collapse in Bellandur rose to five after the fire and emergency officials extricated two more bodies of labourers on Thursday night. According to DCP (south-east) Dr. Boralingaiah, “the two labourers have been identified as Shamshuddin (52) and Dhruv. However, the fire officials suspect the toll may rise further as one more labourer is reportedly trapped in the debris.”

The rescue operation is being jointly carried out by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Fire and Rescue officials.

Earlier around 4.30 am they extricated the body of third victim and he was later identified as Radha Nayak (30). “The body was found stuck between the two beams by the rescue officials. They had to cut through them to extricate the body, which was sent to Victoria Hospital,” said a fire official.

During the second day of the rescue operation, victim location camera (VLC) was deployed for a short while. This camera can locate the victims using negative imaging. The rescue workers also used infrared glasses to see through darkness and smoke to find any victims.

A fire official told Deccan Chronicle, “VLC was used to locate victims trapped in the rubble and establish contact with them by tracing their heartbeat. However, it was soon withdrawn as the officials found it difficult to use due to the presence of large crowd. Now, they are using JCBs to dig and break further to find out if anyone is stuck inside.”

No accurate info: Police
During the operation the police and fire officials learnt that around 20 workers were at the spot. “As of now, the exact number of deaths cannot be confirmed. The rescued labourers claimed that around 20 to 22 people were working when the incident took place. They did not know their names or the places they hailed from, thereby making it difficult to get accurate information,” said an officer.

Siddapura horror
The Wednesday’s building collapse incident brought back the horror of Siddapura in August, 2013, where a seven-storey under-construction building had caved in. The mishap had claimed lives of three workers and left 10 others in Someshwaranagar.

Fresh directives by town planning

• Following the mishap in Bellandur, the BBMP’s town planning department has issued a series of instructions and guidelines for property owners and builders. Accordingly,
• A pumping system must be installed to remove groundwater, if accumulated during construction
• Two  meter distance must be maintained  from neighbouring buildings
• The quality of the construction material such as concrete and steel must be tested in labs
• And  mandatory permission must be taken from all  government agencies before construction is allowed.

Rescue ops to continue
It has been more than 24 hours after more than 200 rescue workers from various government agencies began the operation and they fear the casualties could rise.

Fire officer S. Bassavanna told Deccan Chronicle, “It is suspected that more people are trapped inside. According to the locals, there was a woman along with the child and a boy said to be aged around 16 years. The locals also said that there was a temporary kitchen at the ground floor where the woman along with the child was believed to be cooking, while the 16-year-old boy was painting the walls.

During rescue operation on Wednesday the officials could loud cries of a woman, which stopped after sometime. We don’t want to take a chance and want to be sure. The rescue operation will continue the entire night.”

A sniffer dog who was called in on Thursday for rescue operation indicated the possibility of one person trapped in the rubble. The sniffer dog was also able to locate a dog which was trapped under the debris. Even though officials could see some parts of the animal, they have been unable to pull out its body owing to the massive construction rubble. Neighbours said the dog belonged to Ashok Mahanta, the security guard who died in the accident on Wednesday