At least 6 confirmed dead in Gurugram building collapse

At least six people dies while search for others continued as a four-storey building collapsed in Gurugram on Thursday. Search and rescue operations were on till last reports came in, with the authorities fearing that six other people were still trapped under the debris.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each for the families of those who died in the building collapse in Ullawa area of Gurugram.

According to an official of the NDRF, the newly-laid ceiling on the top floor of the building had crashed, triggering the collapse of the entire structure.

"Those killed were on the second and the third floor, the building's ground and first floor were vacant," the NDRF official, involved in the rescue operation, told PTI.

Three of the deceased, identified as Kuldeep (32), Vishal (17), Altaf (24), were residents of Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar, while one Anand is a native of Bihar's Samastipur, said Gurgaon Police spokesperson Subhash Bokan.

"The identity of the other two deceased was yet to be established," he said. All the victims were asleep when the building collapsed.

Soon after the incident took place, three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), district administration and police officials and fire department personnel were rushed to the spot.

According to news agency PTI, the Gurgaon Fire Department control room received a call at 5.15 am from a local about the building collapse. Police are on the lookout for the owner of the building.

Gurugram SDM Sanjeev Single had earlier said, “Building was unstable and was being built without any technical expertise. Almost 150 people are carrying out rescue ops. We are being told that 6-7 people are trapped under the debris but the exact number is yet to be ascertained.”