Dharwad building collapse: Toll mounts to ten; 61 people rescued; search ops continue as over 10 missing

Dharwad (Karnataka): Rescuers Thursday pulled out three more bodies from the rubble of the under-construction building that collapsed at Dharwad in north Karnataka two days back, taking the number of dead in the incident to ten, police said.

“As many as 61 people have been rescued and more than 10 are still missing,” Dharwad Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan said on Wednesday night.

The bodies of Divya Unakal (8), Dakshayini (45) and an unidentified person were retrieved from the debris as the rescue operations entered the third day, police said.

On Wednesday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to Karnataka’s Hubli from Hindon in Uttar Pradesh to join the rescue and search operation after an under-construction building collapsed in Dharwad.

The operation is being conducted jointly by NDRF and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Meanwhile, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said rescue efforts were being conducted on a war footing and urged locals not to panic.

Earlier on Wednesday, Karnataka Revenue Minister RV Deshpande said that the government will initiate an inquiry and those injured will be treated free of cost.

The four-storeyed building, which belonged to one of the relatives of former Congress minister Vinay Kulkarni, came crashing on Tuesday. As many as 55 people were injured in the incident.

Anger and frustration were palpable as more bodies were retrieved from the accident site with loud wails of relatives.

Locals sought to know how the civic agencies turned a blind eye to sub-standard materials being used for the construction, though everybody was apprehensive about the strength of the building. As of yet, the police have not arrested anyone.

BJP MLA from Hubballi-Dharwad Central and former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar too visited the spot and took stock of the situation.