Mohali building collapse: Body of man found, death toll climbs to two

Chandigarh, Dec 22 (PTI) The death toll in the Mohali building collapse climbed to two with the body of a 29-year-old man recovered from under the rubble on Sunday, even as a preliminary probe suggested that digging in an adjacent plot led to the incident.

The multi-storey building collapsed on Saturday evening in Sohana village of Punjab’s Mohali district, with at least five people trapped under its rubble. Rescue efforts continued overnight to find possible survivors.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mohali, Damandeep Kaur said one male body was recovered during the ongoing rescue operation.

He was identified as Abhishek Dhanwal from Ambala.

Earlier in the day, Abhishek’s father told reporters at the site that his son, who used to visit a gym in the building, was missing and his phone was not reachable.

Abhishek worked in the IT sector and used to live in a nearby area, his father said.

Earlier, a 20-year-old woman died in the incident on Saturday evening.The woman hailing from Himachal Pradesh, died after she was pulled out of the debris of the building. She was rescued from the rubble in a critical condition and was rushed to a hospital, but she succumbed to injuries.

Police have booked two building owners in the incident.

Viraj S Tidke, officiating deputy commissioner, said on Sunday that, “A three-storey building collapsed yesterday…the rescue operation continued overnight. So far, two bodies have been recovered”.

The building also had a basement.

Several excavators have been pressed into service as part of the rescue operation.

National Disaster Response Team (NDRF), Army, state rescue teams have been working since Saturday evening to address the crisis. Medical teams, along with an ambulance, have also been deployed at the site since Saturday evening.

As the operation continued at the site, required equipment and machinery have been made available to the rescuers, in addition to those brought by the NDRF and Army.

Preliminary information suggests that the building, which also had a gym, collapsed due to digging in an adjacent plot.

Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Pareek told reporters at the site on Sunday that as per preliminary investigations the owner of the building, which collapsed, had a plot of land adjacent to it on which digging work to construct a basement was on.

“However, no permission was taken and no concerned agency was informed about the unauthorised digging,” Pareek said.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa slammed the Mohali district administration over the incident.

Bajwa, a senior Congress leader, who visited the site, told reporters that he has learnt that some structures have been built in the area in flagrant violation of rules.

“Accountability should be fixed in the matter. As head of district administration, personally, I hold the Deputy Commissioner responsible.

“..After a few months another building will collapse and this will continue, so accountability has to be fixed,” Bajwa said.

He also said the administration should take necessary measures to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future.