Gaurav Kanthwal
Mohali, December 31
A construction labourer was killed while another was injured after an under-construction building collapsed in Sector 126, Chajju Majra, on Saturday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar, 40, a native of UP, while Nitish Kumar, 25, of Madhepura, Bihar, sustained injuries and has been admitted to Phase-6 hospital in Mohali.
As many as 11 persons were working in the two-storey commercial building when it collapsed suddenly around 5:30 pm. Eyewitnesses said both the roofs and the basement collapsed and the pillars folded under the debris. Seven labourers ran for safety, while two were trapped on the ground floor and the other two stuck under the iron mesh in the basement.
Locals led the rescue operation as four JCB machines and cutters were deployed to rescue the injured. Both the injured were rushed to the Phase-6 Civil Hospital in Mohali where Ajay was declared dead.
Eyewitnesses said when the building collapsed, the labourers jumped to safety. One of them saved himself by hanging to a nearby wall of a showroom.
SP Rural Navpreet Singh Virk said, “Eleven persons were working in the building. Two were rescued and admitted to the hospital. The showroom owner has been identified as Leena Kalra, wife of Tarun Kalra. Their phone is switched off right now. It seems that the roofs were being laid quickly without giving adequate rest time. The quality of construction material too needs to be probed.”
Fire brigades and ambulances reached the spot around 6 pm. An NDRF team reached the spot around 8:30 pm and used the Victim Locating Camera (VLC) to ensure that nobody was trapped under the debris. There was a traffic jam in the area due to narrow road and rush hours.
