The Hindu : Front Page : Two die as building collapses on them

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Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
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Two die as building collapses on them

Staff Reporter

The incident occurred at Ejipura EWS Quarters; five injured have been hospitalised

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Tragedy: The building that collapsed at the EWS Quarters in Bangalore on Friday.

BANGALORE: Two boys died and five were injured when a building, which was being demolished, collapsed on them in the Adugodi police station limits on Friday.

The victims had entered the building allegedly to steal steel reinforcements. The police gave their names as Xavier (10) and Gabriel (12).

The incident occurred at the Ejipura EWS Quarters, opposite the National Games Village complex, where buildings had been declared unsafe for habitation, and the residents were asked to vacate the premises.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which has been demolishing the building blocks one by one, was in the process of demolishing Block No. 34 where the tragedy occurred.

The demolition, however, was stopped on Wednesday evening because of the Deepavali holidays. The injured have been identified as Bablu, Riyaz, Zakir, Mehbub and Kasim, all neighbourhood residents. The boys reportedly entered the building around 2.15 p.m. and began pulling out steel rods from the dilapidated structure. Within no time, a part of the block crumbled on them.

A resident of the locality told The Hindu that the boys attempted to enter the building in the morning, but were sent back with a warning.

Fire and Emergency Service personnel rescued the five injured, who were later shifted to the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. After recovering from the initial shock, the boys reportedly told a friend that two women were also with them inside the building.

However, a thorough search in the debris resulted in the recovery of only two bodies.

BBMP Joint Commissioner (East) S.N. Nagaraj, who supervised the rescue operations, said the BBMP was not at fault as it had already directed the occupants to vacate the buildings and provided temporary sheds.

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