Elderly couple among 3 dead in Ahmedabad building collapse

Ahmedabad: Three persons, including an elderly couple, died and eight others were injured when a three-storey residential building collapsed here on Thursday afternoon, said officials.

Since some occupants are still feared trapped under the debris of the building, said to be over eight decades old, fire brigade along with local residents and policemen are engaged in sifting through the rubble in search of survivors, said Assistant Fire Officer PS Parmar. Rescue teams have so far pulled out eight persons alive from the rubble and referred them to government run-LG Hospital, he added.

Of the total 11 people referred to the hospital, three - an elderly couple and a 36-year-old woman - were declared as 'brought dead' by doctors, said hospital authorities, adding eight others are currently under treatment.

The deceased were identified as Baldev Suri (84), his wife Vimala Suri (80) and one Asha Patel (36).

According to survivors, 15 to 20 people belonging to different families and living as tenants were inside the three -storey building when it came crashing down.

As many as 20 firefighting vehicles were rushed to the spot for the rescue operation.

Police and local residents joined the operation to rescue the trapped people by removing concrete chunks and other materials.

"The rescue operation is still on as we suspect that four more persons are still trapped under the debris.

"Locals told us the building was around 80 years old and four to five families were living there," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Akshayraj Makwana.