New Delhi building collapses:
Nearly 65 killed
INDIA : At least 65 people died when a four-storeyed building in a
crowded area of New Delhi collapsed, officials said Tuesday, as rescuers
hunted for more victims feared trapped in the rubble.
Officials said the building in eastern Delhi may have been weakened
by heavy flooding brought on by some of the strongest monsoon rains in
decades, which burst the banks of the nearby river Yamuna that runs
through Delhi.
Rescue workers and residents worked through the night trying to
remove debris after the building caved in late Monday in the congested
working-class Lalita Park area of Laxmi Nagar, where narrow lanes made
it difficult for rescue services to bring in heavy lifting equipment.
“Sixty-Five people were killed and 76 were injured in the incident,”
a fire brigade official said, according to the Press Trust of India news
agency, giving an updated death toll Tuesday.
Witnesses said they heard shouts for help from under the debris, PTI
said, while local residents complained that power cuts and the absence
of cranes hampered the rescue efforts initially. Delhi Chief Minister
Sheila Dikshit suggested the building might have been an unauthorised
construction, and officials said an inquiry has been launched into the
disaster.
“I think it is the carelessness of the builder who did not build a
strong enough building to withstand a flood that came about a month
ago,” she told the NDTV news channel on Monday. M.P. Singh in the Delhi
police control room told AFP that police had identified the owner of the
building and would be questioning him shortly.
The building is believed to have been mostly residential, but some
reports said it also contained a cloth exporting company and a food
snacks group.
Many of the injured and dead were pulled by bystanders from the
crumpled slabs of concrete and pulverised bricks and mortar piled up at
the site of the collapsed building, witnesses said.
Enforcement of building regulations is lax in the Indian capital and
minor accidents are common. The construction industry is also riddled
with corruption, leading to the use of substandard materials.
The much-delayed and over-budget Delhi Commonwealth Games in October
shone an unflattering light on many industry practices.
An investigation by India’s leading anti-corruption body concluded
that sub-standard concrete and anti-corrosion coatings for steel had
been used in a host of public works, while safety certificates also
appeared to have been faked.
“The enquiry that we will set up tomorrow will bring out the truth
and will hopefully identify those that are guilty either individually or
collectively,” Dikshit said Monday.
New Delhi, Tuesday, AFP#
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