Goa building collapse: Death toll rises to 18

Panaji: One more body was recovered on Tuesday from the debris of the five-storeyed building which collapsed in Canacona, Goa on Saturday, taking the toll to 18 even as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said there are 12 more bodies left in the rubble. Director of Fire and Emergency Services Ashok Menon told PTI that the body of a man was pulled out. [caption id=“attachment_1327773” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rescue operations at the building collapse site in Goa. PTI[/caption] Workers also resumed the rescue operation this afternoon which was stopped since Monday, after the adjacent building developed a precarious tilt. “We are using victim location cameras. Goa fire fighters are using canister masks due to the foul smell in the area,” Menon said. Parrikar said there are 12 more bodies left in the debris which is yet to be cleared. He told reporters here Jharkhand’s principal secretary is camping in South Goa and that the Goa government has made arrangements to transport dead bodies of five Jharkhand labourers to that state. “All arrangements to transport the bodies have been made by the Goa district administration and the cost is being borne by the Jharkhand government,” he said. Goa Police also registered offences against three people involved with the construction firm which built the structure. A deputy town planner has been arrested, while a municipal engineer against whom a case has registered seems to have absconded. PTI