Two labourers died and seven others sustained serious injuries after an under-construction water tank collapsed on Corpse of a Military Police (CMP) Centre and School campus in Anepalya off Hosur Road on Friday afternoon.
The deceased have been identified as Prem, 18 of Bihar, and Thippaiah, 31, of Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh.
Among the injured, three are said to be in critical condition.
Police said the CMP had given a contract to Lal Construction company to build a water tank on the campus, where quarters for the CMP staff is also located.
The construction work was near to completion and final works were pending.
About seven labourers, including the two deceased, were inside the tank doing plastering work.
“At 2 pm, the centring of the tank caved in and the labourers fell from a height of 50 feet.
Junior engineer of the construction company Raju, and another workers were standing down, and the debris fell on them.
Due to the impact, Prem was killed on the spot.
Fire department personnel rushed to the rescue of the workers.
After an operation of nearly one hour, all the injured people were shifted to a private hospital, where Thippaiah succumbed,” the police said.
Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji said, “The exact reason for the accident is not yet known.
We will take an expert opinion to ascertain the reason for the collapse and take action based on their report.
The contractor, Gopal, has been taken into custody and we are questioning him.
He is into construction business for over 40 years.
” Hampagol, technical director of Fire and Emergency Services said the tank was about 60-feet high and of one lakh litre capacity.
“We suspect that there was some fault in the links installed in the centring.
We used electric gas cutters to rescue labourers who were stuck under the concrete and iron debris,” he added.
Obaleshwara, who sustained a fracture in his left leg said the deceased Thippaiah, and another injured Veeranjaneyulu, were his relatives.
“We are natives of Anantpur and had come for work about three months ago.
We reside in Ejipura.
My friend Mehaboob, who had also come from Anantpur, is also injured in the incident.
We were all inside the tank and suddenly it collapsed.
I don’t know how it happened.
” he said.
The other three injured are identified as Rajesh, Ravi and Rafik.
Ashoknagar police have registered a case in this connection.
Meanwhile, Army has also ordered an inquiry into the incident.