THE DEATH TOLL after a building collapsed in Delhi, India has climbed to over 60. At least 80 people were injured in the disaster which saw an apartment building in east Delhi come crashing down at 8.15pm yesterday.
The building was occupied by around 10 families of migrant workers and children – the last official death count comes to 64. An illegal fifth floor had been under construction on the 15-year-old building when it collapsed. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the owner, Amrit Singh, who has absconded and is being hunted by the force.
The building is believed also to have been weakened by floods in the area when monsoon rains hit recently. Emergency crew members are still hunting for survivors among the rubble and a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the tragedy.
The Bombay News is reporting that President Sonia Gandhi is today meetings survivors and relatives of the tragedy in hospital. The paper also quotes Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as saying engineers were surveying the area to pinpoint other houses in the area that might have weak foundations.
The identification is being done. We are giving double the compensation. Injured people are being treated in Lok Nayak Jai Narayan hospital. People living in the nearby buildings have been evacuated.
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