CHANDIGARH, Dec 22: The death toll in the Mohali building collapse climbed to two on Sunday with the body of a man recovered from under the rubble, officials said.
The multi-storey building collapsed on Saturday evening in Sohana village of Punjab’s Mohali district, with at least five people trapped in its rubble.
One male body was recovered during the ongoing rescue operation, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mohali, Damandeep Kaur said, according to an official statement.
The identity of the deceased was being ascertained, the statement said.
Earlier, a 20-year-old woman died in the incident on Saturday evening.The woman hailing from Himachal Pradesh, died after she was pulled out of the debris of the building. She was rescued from the rubble in critical condition and was rushed to a hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries.
The rescue effort continued overnight.
Police have booked two building owners in the incident.
Several excavators have been pressed into service as part of the rescue operation.
National Disaster Response Team (NDRF), Army, state rescue teams have been working since Saturday evening to address the crisis. Medical teams, along with an ambulance, have also been deployed at the site since Saturday evening.
As the operation continued at the site, required equipment and machinery have been made available to the rescuers, in addition to those brought by the NDRF and Army.
Earlier, a resident had said a loud noise was heard when the building collapsed.
Preliminary information suggests the building, which also had a gym, collapsed due to digging in an adjacent plot.
“IndianArmy reacted swiftly for the rescue. In a remarkable display of coordinated efforts, #IndianArmy Columns along with #NDRF and State rescue teams have been relentlessly working to address the crisis.
“Engineer Task Force with debris clearance machine & JCBs are operational at site. Top debris removed & efforts being done to reach the basement,” Western Command, Indian Army, said in a post on X.
After the incident on Saturday, all major hospitals in Mohali such as Civil Hospital (attached within Medical College), Fortis, Max and Sohana, were put on alert to cater to the wounded.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, who was at the spot on Saturday, had said a multi-agency rescue effort was underway. (Agencies)
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