BHOPAL: A three-storey dilapidated building collapsed on Monday night in Indore’s densely populated Ranipura-Jawahar Marg area, leaving several people trapped under the debris.
Rescue teams, including the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF), have so far managed to pull out 10 people alive, who were rushed to MY Hospital for treatment. However, 2–3 individuals, including a woman, are still believed to be trapped.
The building, estimated to be 10–15 years old, housed three families, including that of owner Shambhu Bhai, and collapsed suddenly at around 9 p.m. It also contained two to three godowns on the ground floor.
“Around 17–18 members of at least three families lived in the building,” said a neighbour, Qamruddin.
Indore District Collector Shivam Verma confirmed that 13 people were present in the structure when it collapsed. "Ten persons have been rescued safely, while two to three are still stranded. Efforts are underway to rescue them," he said.
Residents of Koshti Mohalla-Daulatganj, where the building was located, suspect that continuous rainfall may have worsened existing cracks in the structure.
State Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, the local BJP MLA, suggested that waterlogging in the building’s basement could have triggered the collapse. He also noted that the building stood in an illegally developed and congested locality.
“A road is to be developed through the area, and the government was prepared to rehabilitate residents under the PM Housing Scheme. I am coordinating with local representatives but refraining from calling officials to avoid disrupting rescue operations,” he told a news channel.
This is the second major mishap in Indore within a week. On 15 September, a speeding and allegedly intoxicated truck driver caused a deadly crash in a no-heavy-vehicle zone on Airport Road–Bada Ganpati Road, killing three people and injuring 12 others.