BANGALORE: Twelve people had a narrow escape on Thursday when a 30-year-old building near Shankar Mutt in Basaveshwara Nagar collapsed partially. It was saved from crashing completely by the adjacent building.
This comes just two days after a 25-year-old building collapsed at Lingarajapuram in east Bangalore, killing one person and injuring several others.
Two families and a few students lived in the two-storey building that collapsed early on Thursday. According to fire safety officials who coordinated the rescue, around 6.15 am, the residents heard a loud noise and felt the building move.
But the movement stopped after a few seconds and on rushing out to the street, the residents found the building resting on the adjacent one-storey building.
None of the residents suffered major injuries. An eight-year-old boy, Mayur, and his mother Rajeshwari, who lived on the ground floor, suffered minor bruises when stones fell on them while they were rushing out, police said. The building belongs to one Surendra Kumar.
‘It Sank to The Ground’
According to Fire and Emergency Services officials, the building caved in. “We are not sure why it happened, but it is possible that it had a weak foundation. Only after demolishing the building can we ascertain why it sank,” an official said.
The plan is to demolish the building from the first floor downwards. Although the second building is unlikely to be demolished fully, officials said its first floor will have to be demolished. “Our efforts are to save the ground floor of the second building, but we will be able to know for sure only during the demolition,” he said.
Because of the close proximity of the buildings, officials are finding it difficult to demolish the damaged building. “Every time we tried, the building shifted. There is extreme danger of it collapsing on to the other building,” said Doddiah, Basaveshwarnagar station officer, Fire and Emergency Services.