Gurugram: One dead, 2 trapped after apartment building's roof collapses
One person died and at least two were feared trapped after the roof of a residential building in Gurugram's Sector 109 collapsed on Thursday evening. Gururgram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav said a couple—Mr. and Mrs. Srivastava—is still stuck in the rubble, adding that only Mr. Srivastava's leg is stuck. He is being treated for injuries as his leg is being pulled out, Yadav added.
The police said Mr. Srivastava—a bureaucrat—returned to his apartment 10 minutes before the incident. The couple was in the dining room at the time, the police added. Mrs. Srivastava has still not been found and it is feared that she may be dead.
As per officials, the incident took place around 6:15 pm at tower D of Chintel Paradiso society. Reportedly, a room on the sixth floor of the tower was under renovation and its drawing room floor collapsed. Following this, all roofs and floors starting from the sixth floor till the ground floor of the building collapsed at once, reports said.
Officials said the casualties could have been higher, but the sixth, fifth and third floors were vacant, while the family on the fourth floor was not home. Notably, the deceased lived on the second floor, and the Srivastavas were living on the first floor.
Till Friday morning, rescue efforts were being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and fire department. "The main challenge is that if the pillars are removed, the debris of the upper floors may destabilize the first floor as well. So, we are being very careful to rescue them (Srivastavas)," an official told The Indian Express.
Taking to Twitter, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said he is personally monitoring the situation. The CM said that the SDRF and the NDRF teams are "busy in rescue and relief work." He added, "I pray for everyone's safety."
Meanwhile, the builder of Chintel Paradiso was booked on Friday following a complaint by the deceased's husband, Rajesh Bharadwaj. The police have booked Ashok Solomon, MD of Chintels, under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. In the FIR, Bharadwaj said the incident occurred due to negligent and sub-standard construction done by the Chintels group.
