Two arrested, 22 dead in building collapses in India

Police in Chennai detained two construction company directors on Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 22 people.

The 11-story apartment structure the workers were building collapsed late on Saturday while heavy rains and lightning were pounding the outskirts of Chennai. Police said 31 construction workers had been pulled out so far and the search was continuing for more than a dozen others.

Four of the workers died on the spot and another seven succumbed to injuries in a hospital, said police officer George Fernandes.

Feeble voices were being heard from those trapped in the debris, said T.S. Sridhar, the disaster management agency commissioner. Rescuers used gas cutters, iron rods and shovels after cranes lifted concrete blocks to get to the survivors.

Nearly 90 contract workers were believed to have been in the basement of the structure to collect their weekly wages when it collapsed, Sridhar said, adding that the exact number of those trapped was unknown.

The collapsed structure was one of the two towers being built in the area, he said.

“Removing debris is a major challenge. It may take two to three days to clear the rubble,” said S.P. Selvam, who is heading the rescue operation.

Police officer Kanan said two directors of the construction company, Prime Sristi, have been detained for questioning as authorities began investigating the collapse.

Balaguru, one of the builders, said the structure collapsed possibly due to the impact of lightning.

“Usually, once the construction gets over we install the equipment to prevent the building from a thunder strike. It was nearing completion,” Balaguru was quoted.

Earlier on Saturday, 11 people died and one survivor was being treated in a hospital after a four-story, 50-year-old structure toppled in an area of New Delhi inhabited by the poor, said fire service officer Praveer Haldiar.

Most homes in that part of the capital were built without permission and using substandard materials, police officer Madhur Verma said.

Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorised extra floors.

In April last year, 74 people were killed when an eight-story building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra state caved in. It was the worst building collapse in the country in decades.