Indore building collapse: 10 dead, six injured after dilapidated structure gives way; magisterial inquiry ordered

Ten people including two women died while six others were injured as a three-story dilapidated building collapsed near Sarvate Bus Stand in Indore, Madhya Pradesh around 10 pm on Saturday night. The building housed MS Hotel, a lodge-cum-eatery. The district administration ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

#Visuals -- At least 8 dead and 7 people rescued after the building of a private hotel collapsed in Indore. Rescue operations are underway pic.twitter.com/SCZEGguJTG

— News18 (@CNNnews18) April 1, 2018

The building collapsed as it was around 60 years old and in a bad shape, Choti Gwaltoli police station inspector Sanju Kamle told PTI on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_4209735” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “We rushed 12 people to the hospital. Doctors there declared ten dead since [Saturday] night,” he said, adding, two women were among the dead. Eyewitness accounts claimed that the dilapidated structure came crashing down after a speeding car hit the building, according to  News18. The police, however, has not confirmed it. When Kamle was asked whether the collapse was caused after a car crashed into the main pillar of the building bringing it down like a pack of cards, he said investigations are on. The police had to reportedly use mild force to disperse the crowd which had gathered on the spot after the building collapsed. As per  NDTV, till 7 am on Sunday two to five people were feared trapped under the debris. The TV news channel also claimed that nine people had been evacuated so far. Two persons, who were injured in the incident, are being treated at the government MY Hospital. Superintendent of MY Hospital, VS Paul, told PTI on Saturday night that seven injured were brought to the hospital and the treatment of three persons was underway. ANI tweeted visuals of the site of the accident:

Early morning visuals from #Indore building collapse site, the incident has claimed 10 lives. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/rFOLYGMADO

— ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2018

Police said while the rescue operation was still underway. It will take another hour to remove the debris, Kamle added. Shivraj Chouhan announces Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted his condolences and said: “We are monitoring the rescue effort. I pray that everyone survives and those wounded recover soon.”

इंदौर के सरवटे बस स्टैंड के पास हुआ हादसा अत्यंत दुखद है। बचाव कार्य सहित पूरी स्थिति पर हमारी नजर है। ईश्वर से प्रार्थना है कि सभी सकुशल हों और घायल शीघ्र स्वस्थ हों।

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) March 31, 2018

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Chouhan also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of deceased, and Rs. 50,000 each for those injured, reported  CNN-News18. ‘Repair work was going on inside’ Indore Municipal Corporation commissioner Manish Singh was asked why the building was not declared as dangerous and no steps taken to evacuate the premises in time. To this, Singh said, “The hotel building was old. Its construction technique was also old. But its owner had tried to make it look spic and span by keeping it well painted and decorated from outside.” “It has come to light that some repair work was going on inside the building for the last few days and that just before the mishap, a wall of the building collapsed following which the entire structure came crashing down,” he told PTI. He said the civic body was trying to find out as to how much illegal construction had been done in the premises by its owner. While it was yet unclear how the structure collapsed, eyewitnesses claimed that a car rammed into a pillar of the hotel, following which there was a loud sound and the building came crashing down like a pack of cards. The civic commissioner said this version could not be ruled out as of now and a detailed investigation was on into it. He also said that two buildings adjoining the hotel also suffered damage and their residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Collector Nishant Warwade said a detailed inquiry into the incident will be conducted by an additional district magistrate (ADM)-rank official. The incident was also captured on a CCTV, the video of which has gone viral on social media. The CCTV footage, which is of a few seconds, purportedly shows the building collapsing and some two and four-wheel vehicles getting trapped under the rubble. Following the collapse, there was a huge cloud of dust and debris in the area, as per the footage. Four of those who died in the mishap were identified as Rakesh Rathore (26), Raju Sen (40), Anand Porwal (27) and Harish Soni (65). The identities of the other six deceased, including the two women, were yet to be established. According to a police official, names of about 40 guests were mentioned on some recent dates in the hotel’s register, and seven to eight employees were working. However, it was not yet clear as to how many people were present in the hotel at the time of the mishap, he said. With inputs from PTI