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Building collapses in Chd; 6 workers killed, 2 critical

Six labourers were killed on Monday while two critically injured when a two-storey building caved in during a construction work in its basement here, police said.

Seventeen people, 12 of which were labourers working in the basement, were inside the building in Transport Nagar area in Sector 26 here at the time of the incident, police said.

According to fire brigade workers, the labourers had dug deeper than required due to which the roof of the liquor shop collapsed and six people were buried alive.

Two of the injured have been taken to Sector 32 hospital, one is admitted in Sector 16, while the others have been rushed to Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

Prabhu Nath of Purvanchal Welfare Association said that the compensation should be given to the victims and contractor Jeevan Jindal, who is a resident of SAS Nagar, should be immediately arrested.

Nath also urged the Chandigarh administration to make strong policy to avoid such accidents in the future.

Meanwhile, UT inspector general of police RP Upadhyay visited the accident site to take stock of the situation.

The fire brigade workers, police and members from NGO have managed in clearing the debris, police said.

A case has been registered against the contractor who was constructing the basement of the building, they added.

The building crumbled as construction workers in an adjoining plot were digging a basement, triggering the wall of the liquor store to cave in.

He added that no one else was feared trapped after rescuers helped by residents plucked out survivors using shovels and bare hands to shift mangled heaps of steel and concrete.

The accident is the latest in a long line of deadly building collapses in India, some of which have highlighted shoddy construction standards.

In July, seven people died when a three-storey building collapsed in heavy rains in Mumbai just a year after an 11-storey apartment tower in Tamil Nadu came crashing down killing 61 people, mostly labourers. A massive influx of people to cities in search of jobs and a shortage of cheap housing have fuelled the construction of illegal buildings across the country, often with sub-standard material.
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