HUBBALLI: The death toll in the parcel building collapse near Hubballi railway station has increased to seven. The NDRF team which reached the spot at 2 a.m. on Tuesday is still searching for probable survivors under the rubble.
Chief Minister Siddaramaih visited the spot and got details from officials on the ongoing operation.
Possibility of survivors is very less, informed railway sources.
In a major mishap outside the Hubballi railway station here on Monday, at least seven persons were believed to have been buried alive after the old building housing Railway Parcel Office and the General Railway Police Station collapsed.
The rescue operation which began immediately after the mishap (around 2 p.m.) continued till late night, and by 7.30 p.m., they rescue teams had managed to retrieve the bodies of four person including that of a railway employee. One person, Rehman, caught under the debris was rescued and is being treated at Railway Hospital. Initial reports put the number of persons who sustained minor injuries in the mishap at 15 and they were treated at the Railway Hospital.
The deceased railway employee has been identified as Thimma Reddy, Chief Commercial Clerk at the parcel office. The other three have been identified as Kailash Ranjan (70) of Shanthinagar, Salim Rafiq Doddamani of railway colony and M. Galeppa (50) of Sandur in Ballari district.
The two-storey old building believed to have been built five decades ago was in a fragile condition and the process for shifting both the offices had been already been initiated. Railway sources revealed that over 75 per cent of the shifting process had been completed. When the building collapsed railway parcel office staff and few police personnel were in the building along with few persons who had come either to take away the parcel or book it.
Soon General Manager of South Western Railway, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Rajendra Cholan, Police Commissioner Pandurang Rane, MLA Prasad Abbayya rushed to the spot, to oversee the rescue operation. District-in-charge minister Vinay Kulkarni joined visited the spot in the evening.
According to initial reports it was suspected that more than ten trapped in the building but later it came down to seven persons including the parcel office staff and the police personnel.
The railway apprentices were the first to begin the rescue operations even before the fire brigade personnel and police rushed to the spot. But the Police had a tough time in controlling the crowd, which had gathered to see the rescue operation. As heavy rails were used for the ceiling of the building, gas cutters were used to cut them, while removing the debris
