Commercial complex under-construction collapses

Rescue, Collapse, DCPOn Tuesday at 3:50 PM, in Dharwad, a four storey commercial complex building which was under-construction had collapsed.

Mallappa who was working in a shop inside had said that, "By the time I realised something was happening, it was dark. I thought I was dying. However, I was lucky as some people suddenly pulled me out from the debris. As soon as an ambulance arrived, people put me in. I'm relieved now as I have sustained only a few minor injuries."

Shivanagouda Nargund, 31, who was working on the third flood has been admitted to the casualty wing of the Civil Hospital. "I had no clue as to what happened; when I opened my eyes, I found myself buried in concrete. I somehow mustered courage and removed some debris and that's when rescue personnel noticed my hand. Soon, police pulled me out. I could hear the cries of two other people and I informed others about it. They were also rescued. We were brought together to the hospital," he told a source.

Mohammad Gouse, a resident of Tipu Nagar in Hubballi, said that, he was half buried in rubble and suffered injuries on his hand, leg and chest, as he fell on the boxes and was rescued by police. He said police arrived at the spot immediately and locals were in the forefront of rescue operations.

DCP Shivakumar Gunare had said that, 10 people were rescued by him and his team.

An eyewitness to this incident, Basavaraj, said he had anticipated this tragedy, but did not expect it to happen this early. "As I am a civil engineer, I had noticed the sub-standard material being used for the construction of this building. The building started shaking and collapsed within 5-10 seconds. Because of dust, many thought it's a plane crash," he said.

Those who are struck in the debris will be able to survive for two or more days if there is enough oxygen supply, said the District civil surgeon Dr Giridhar Kuknoor.

Ullas Gunaga, PRO of Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and a resident of Kumareshwar Nagar, had said that, "I stopped my two-wheeler about 200 metres from the building to talk to a friend. Suddenly, I saw wooden poles fixed for centering on the building falling. I was wondering how dangerously they had put those poles and what would happen if they fell on passersby. Within seconds I heard a loud noise and the entire building came crashing down. We ran for safety, thinking it was an earthquake. There was dust all around and nothing was visible for sometime. After a few minutes, we saw the entire building grounded and we rushed to the spot. I alerted police and my bank officials. Everyone rushed to the spot within minutes and tried to help those trapped."