When a two-storey building in the congested bylanes of Ejipura collapsed into a mound of rubble on Monday morning, little did the onlookers and rescue personnel know they would see light at the end of the tunnel. Seven persons died, while another seven sustained injuries, when a suspected gas explosion ripped apart the building. Miraculously, a three-year-old girl survived the incident that killed her parents.
She had been sleeping next to a sturdy cupboard that saved her. Fire officials suspect that gas from a cylinder started leaking in the building, which was home to four families. Around 6.30 a.m. neighbours heard an explosion, and soon after the building collapsed. By 2.30 p.m., the bodies of those dead were recovered.
Neighbours described a carnage where yellow flames of spreading gas were seen.
“We heard a loud blast and we rushed out of our homes around 6.40 a.m.,” said Vinod Kumar, who lives in the house opposite the building. Fire and police officials are yet to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
“The victims had burn marks, but there is no conclusive proof there was an explosion that could have weakened the building,” said Chandragutpa, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central). During rescue operations, four members of the Fire and Emergency Services were also injured.
On the ground floor, Sharavana, 28, and his seven-month pregnant wife, Ashwini, 25, were killed, while Sanjana, the three-year-old, survived with injuries. On the first floor of the building, where two families lived, Fire personnel recovered the bodies of Ravichandra, 46, Kalavathi, 68, Malashri, 25, Hariprasad, 18, and Pavan Kalyan, 19.
Kalavathi, Ashwini’s aunt, said the family had moved into the building four years ago when Sharavana got a job in a private firm that manufactures air filters. “We can’t believe this has happened. We visited them this Sunday, and spent a lot of them with them and their child,” she said.
The State government has announced a compensation of ₹5lakh for the deceased.
The injured were shifted to three government hospitals, where they are recovering with burns and fractures. “The building is very old and had open drains running to the side. It was unstable,” said Swapna D., a relative of Chitra, 42, who lived on the first floor with her children: Ashokan, 5, Priya, 12, and Dileep, 18. “Luckily, they are safe. Dileep has serious injuries, but he is out of danger. Their hometowns are in Tamil Nadu, and their families have been informed,” she said. Others injured include Asha, 21, and Janaki, 31.
Firemen injured
During the rescue operations, the remaining portions of the house collapsed, leading to injuries to four Fire and Emergency Services officials. According to doctors at HOSMAT hospital, Ramkrishna, 52, suffered a spine fracture; Suresh Rao, 45, had injuries to his back muscles and broken bones; Chikkachudyya, 32, and Subhan Khan suffered injuries on their shoulders.
However, scores of officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), bomb disposal squad, civil defence and emergency personnel continued to scour through the remains in the hope of finding survivors. It was only when a dog trained by NDRF sniffed around the debris and confirmed that no one else was trapped that the operations were called off.
Three hours later they find Sanjana
For three hours, rescuers used heavy machines to remove the tonnes of debris and household material that marked the sight of the tragedy. Suddenly, the plaintive cries of a child were heard. Fire and Emergency Services officials removed concrete slabs with their hands and eventually, a frail Sanjana, scarred with burn injuries, was pulled out at around 10 a.m.
