Two more people were rescued from the debris of a building that collapsed at a waste-to-energy plant in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, taking the number of survivors to nine, officials said on Thursday.
The three-storey building at the waste management facility in Moshi caved in on Wednesday afternoon after a massive mound of garbage crashed onto it, trapping several people beneath the rubble.
Seven people were rescued within hours of the collapse. Two more were pulled out after midnight and shifted to hospital. Both are in stable condition, officials said.
Rescue teams continued to search for those still feared trapped under the debris.
"A multi-agency rescue operation is underway to save the remaining victims," Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh Ingale said.
Employees of Antony Lara Renewable Energy, which operates the 14 MW power plant in collaboration with the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), were among those trapped, an official had said on Wednesday.
According to the PCMC, 23 people were initially believed to be trapped in the collapse. Five managed to escape on their own, following which rescue teams launched an operation to extricate the others.
Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, the PCMC fire brigade, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority fire brigade and the police are participating in the rescue effort.
The civic body said the operation was continuing on a war footing to evacuate those still trapped.
Moshi Pradhikaran is a planned neighbourhood in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune.
"The building stood next to a mountain-like pile of legacy (old) waste. Prima facie, it appears that due to heavy rains, the waste mound became loose and collapsed onto the building like a landslide," Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi had said earlier.
(With inputs from PTI)
