At least 14 people, including Army personnel, died after a four-storey building collapsed on the Nahan-Kumarhatti road in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district due to heavy rain on July 14. Of the 14 killed, 13 were army personnel and one was the wife of a restaurant owner.
Initial reports have mentioned that seven people lost their lives in the building collapse. However, the three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and cops who are overseeing the rescue operation extricated more bodies on July 15, increasing the death toll.
More than twenty-eight people including 17 Army personnel and 11 civilians were injured in the accident. The injured were rushed to the Mahrishi Markandeshwar Medical College at Kumarhatti and the Civil Hospital at Dharmapur. The initial inquiry report notes that the building was built in 2019 and was illegal. The report further claimed that the building was raised on a slippery land without following the bylaws.
As of now, the cops have registered an FIR against the owner of the building.
What happened?
The collapsed building housed a restaurant on the top floor. On July 14, it was raining heavily in the area when around 30 personnel from the Dagshai Cantonment stepped in the restaurant with their families. It is reported that they had come to celebrate the promotion of one of the colleagues. The eye witnesse of the incident told the media persons that people eating in the restaurant noticed the floor shaking and before they could do anything the building came down upon them.
The Cheif Minister of the state – Jai Ram Thakur visited the spot along with governor Acharya Devvrat on Monday to oversee the rescue operation. He told the news reporter: “It is very unfortunate. The rescue operation was started immediately. Orders have been given to investigate the cause of the collapse.” The CM further ordered a magisterial probe. The Deputy commissioner of Solan – KC Chaman said that the magisterial inquiry report needs to be submitted within 15 days.
The CM said that a preliminary probe revealed that building was not constructed according to specification.
Also Read: Karnataka: 3 Dead, Many Feared Trapped In Under-Construction Building Collapse In Dharwad
