A woman was killed and two people were confirmed to be trapped after the roof of an apartment collapsed at a residential complex in Gurugram on Thursday, reported ANI.
The mishap occurred at the D-block of Chintels Paradiso in the city’s Sector 109 area when the slab of a living room on the sixth floor of the 18-storey building collapsed during repair work. The debris fell through to the first floor.
The woman who died has been identified as Ekta Bhardwaj. Her body has been recovered, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Nishant Yadav.
The police have registered a first information report against builder Ashok Saloman and the construction contractor on the complaint of Rajesh Bhardwaj, the husband of the deceased woman, reported PTI. They have been booked under Sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Yadav said that two other persons – a man and woman – were trapped. They have been identified as Arun Kumar Shrivastava and his wife Sunita Shrivastava.
The police officer said that besides these two people, no one else was trapped. However, media reports suggested that several other people were feared trapped.
Yadav said that Shrivastava’s leg was stuck under the debris and he was being rescued. He was expected to make a recovery, reported NDTV.
“He [Shrivastava] has been given first aid and efforts are being made to pull him out,” Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (Gurugram) Gulshan Kalra said.
Yadav said that prima facie, it seemed that the repair work on the sixth floor could have led to the damage in the living room areas. “Other rooms intact from 6-1 floor,” he added.
In his complaint, Rajesh Bharadwaj told the police that his son informed him about the collapse.
“This incident has happened due to negligence and substandard construction work done by MD [Managing Director] Chintels group Ashok Saloman and contractor of construction,” Bharadwaj said. “There could be more fatalities and injuries to other flat residents of D-tower. Kindly take necessary legal action against the accused.”
In a statement, the Chintels group described it as an “unfortunate incident” and said the company has taken the case very seriously, reported The Indian Express.
“We are fully cooperating with authorities and ensuring all support,” it added. “We extend our heartfelt condolence to the affected families.”
Some residents of the complex told The Hindu that structural changes were being carried out in the flat and that could have led to the accident.
The National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the police and the fire department were working to rescue the trapped people.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in a tweet said that he was personally monitoring the situation and prayed for everyone’s safety.
Before the case was registered, Badshahpur MLA Rakesh Daultabad said strict action will be taken against the builder for the quality of construction material used in the building, reported ANI.
Daultabad told ANI that an investigation will also be conducted to ascertain the reasons behind the mishap.
“We are focussing on rescue completion to save lives right now,” he added. “I met the person who is partially trapped. He is fine.”
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