Hubballi: Six people, including railway employees and a woman, died and more than 15 people were injured after a two-storey collapsed at the railway station here on Monday.
The 130-year-old building, which houses parcel office and police station, came down while several employees were still inside. Death toll may increase as more people are trapped under the debris and rescue operation will continue throughout the night under the lights. The authorities were planning to construct a new building after shifting the police station located on the first floor. The police, KSRP and Fire and Emergency teams were pressed into service for the rescue operation.
The incident occurred when most of the employees of the parcel office, working on the ground floor, were away for lunch at 2.30 pm. The walls of the building had developed cracks and the police station on the first floor had been shifted to other premises. But, the railway authorities had not shifted the parcel office, despite pleas made by the railway employees. The rescue teams had to clear the debris with their hands as the use of heavy machinery would bring down the remaining part of the building. They pumped in oxygen to help the possible survivors stranded in rooms under the debris.
Thousands of curious onlookers, who had gathered at the spot, hampered the rescue operations. At one time, the rescue operation had to be called off because of the large crowed. The police used loudspeakers to appeal to the people to stay away from the spot. When the people did not budge, the police had to resort to a mild lathi charge to disperse them.
A portion of the 130-year-old building at the Central Railway Station which collapsed in Hubballi on Monday (Photo: DC)
“We faced severe problems while conducting rescue operations because of a large number of people. We could not hear noises from inside the building because of the commotion in the vicinity. We had suspended the operation as there was a possibility of the building collapsing further,” said National Disaster Response Force emergency coordinator Pradeep. Meanwhile, people expressed their anger against railway authorities for not shifting the parcel office from the dilapidated building.
Deputy Commissioner Rajendra Cholan and Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Pandurang Rane were supervising the rescue operation. District in-charge minister Vinay Kulkarni, who visited spot, held railway authorities responsible for the tragedy. He also said that the rescue teams will be brought from Bengaluru and Belagavi.
“The dilapidated building shook every time a train passed as it is adjacent to the tracks. The wall collapsed while we were shifting equipment from the police station on the first floor. I rushed out immediately and saw many others trapped under the debris,” said Railway Policeman B.S. Mohan who was admitted to the KIMS hospital after suffering a head injury and fractures in his right hand. Railway authorities have announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims.
