Bengaluru building collapse: 7 die in suspected cylinder blast; K'taka govt announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia

A portion of a residential building in Ejipura area of Bengaluru collapsed on Monday morning leaving seven dead, and several people are feared trapped inside, media reports have said.

B'luru:Portion of a residential building collapsed in Ejipura area due to cylinder blast,people feared trapped under debris; Details awaited pic.twitter.com/yztO2dHDOZ

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2017

According to the ANI news agency, a cylinder blast in the building led to the partial collapse of four houses partially_._  The Hindu reported six people have died so far after a gas cylinder exploded at around 6.30 am on Monday. Home minister Ramalinga Reddy also visited the spot. Reddy said that cylinders on both the ground and first floor of the building had no gas in them and could have been the cause of collapse.

#WATCH: Girl child rescued from Ejipura building collapse site in Bengaluru. Her parents died in the incident,govt has decided to adopt her. pic.twitter.com/jZcI1VHAf5

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2017

[caption id=“attachment_4146579” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The collapsed building in Ejipura, Bengaluru. Courtesy: Twitter/@ANI[/caption] Personnel of the fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force, who rushed to the spot, recovered the bodies including that of two women. Two of the deceased have been identified as Kalavathi (68) and Ravichandran (30). Bengaluru development minister KJ George announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. He also added that the Karnataka government will adopt the girl whose parents died in the collapse and take care of all her expenses, reported ANI.  “Two families were residing in the ground floor while one was on the first floor. Kalavathi and Ravichandran were in the first floor. They died on the spot while two children sustained injuries. They are safe. In the ground floor, members of two families might have been trapped,” said the minister. Bengaluru mayor R Sampath Raj said four families were residing in the building. At least 40 fire-fighters and NDRF personnel were carrying out rescue operation. On 13 August, a similar cylinder blast had rocked Ejipura, leaving windows of houses, car windshields and other property shattered, reported  The Times of India. The police, wary of attacks in the days leading up to Independence Day, initially thought it to be a low intensity blast but later concluded that it was caused by a gas cylinder leak. Ejipura is one of the city’s most congested areas, with narrow bylanes and illegal buildings dotting alongside roads. In August, a five-storey building tilted precariously before the city municipal body BBMP decided to demolish it, reported The Hindu. With inputs from PTI