Desperate efforts were underway to retrieve the body of a woman from under the debris of a partially collapsed 18-floor apartment block with rescuers gingerly navigating their way amid fears the entire tower was unstable and at risk, officials said on Saturday, day three after the incident.
Rescuers have to be careful not to damage key supporting pillars, officials said as anxious family members and residents of Chintels Paradiso in Gurugram’s sector 109 counted the hours since Thursday evening when the dining room floor of a sixth-floor apartment came down, killing two women.
While Rekha Bhardwaj died on Thursday, Sunita Shrivastava’s body has been stuck under the debris for over 40 hours – and counting. “Damage to any of the pillars could lead to the tower collapsing. Therefore, work of cutting and removing debris is being done carefully,” a senior official said.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are carrying out rescue works.
The incident led to the death of two women and critical injuries to the husband of one of them. The police have lodged an FIR at Bajghera police station against the managing director of realty firm Chintels India on charges of causing death due to negligence, Gurugram Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Saharan said.
Sunita Srivastava’s husband A K Shrivastava, an IRS officer and a managing director with Central Warehousing Corporation, suffered critical injuries and could be rescued from the debris only after 16 hours of efforts by the NDRF team on Friday.
The Gurugram district administration also instituted a probe into the collapse of roofs of the drawing rooms of flats one below another. Gurugram MP and Union Minister Rao Inderjeet Singh will visit Chintel Paradesio on Saturday.
Chintels India Managing Director Prashant Solomon had said in a tweet,"This is an extremely unfortunate incident and we have taken it very seriously as the safety of our residents is our utmost concern. Upon preliminary investigations, we have come to know that the mishap occurred during renovation work by a contractor being carried out by a resident in his apartment."
According to him, the company had conducted a structural audit last year in the wake of complaints regarding the project.
"We will be initiating a second structural audit at the earliest. In case any defects are found in the structure, we will duly compensate affected buyers or accommodate affected residents in alternate arrangements while necessary repair work is completed," Solomon said.
He also said the company is fully cooperating with the authorities and ensuring all support.
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