A 20-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries after she was pulled out of the debris of a four-storey building that collapsed in the Sohana village of Punjab's Mohali district on Saturday, officials said. The woman has been identified as Drishti Verma, a native of Himachal Pradesh's Theog.
She was pulled out of the rubble in critical condition and was rushed to Sohana Hospital, Viraj S Tidke, officiating deputy commissioner, said. Tidke announced a control room number 0172-2219506 for anyone with apprehension that their family members may be the ones trapped in the debris.
On Saturday evening, a multi-storey building collapsed with at least five people trapped in its rubble. Soon after the collapse, several excavators were pressed into service as part of the rescue operation. officials said that a National Disaster Response Team (NDRF) team was carrying out the operation.
Medical teams, along with an ambulance, have also been deployed. Todke said all major hospitals in the city, such as Civil Hospital (attached within Medical College), Fortis, Max and Sohana, have been put on alert to cater to the wounded.
Meanwhile, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Pareek said that the police have booked building owners -- Parwinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh,
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed sorrow over the tragic incident. Taking to X, he said, "Sad news has been received that a multistorey building near Sohana in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) has collapsed. The entire administration and other rescue teams have been deployed at the spot. I am in constant touch with the administration."
"We pray that there is no loss of life, we will also take action against the culprits. Appeal to the people to cooperate with the administration," he added. So far, the preliminary information suggests that the building, which also had a gym, collapsed due to digging in an adjacent plot. A gym member said she escaped the collapse as she skipped her session on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI)
