At least five killed as Railway parcel building collapses in Karnataka

Hubballi: Five persons were killed and several others injured here when an old Railway parcel office building collapsed on Monday, a top police official said.

We have recovered five dead bodies, four male and a female, from the debris of the collapsed old Railway parcel office building," Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Pandurang Rane told PTI here.

Asked whether any railway employee was among the dead, he said, "A Railway employee, GRB (Group B) employee and a civilian, could be among the dead ... We are investigating," Rane said. Rescue operations are still on, he added.

The old building near the Railway station housed parcel office on the ground floor and Railway police station on the first. Railway police have partially vacated the building.

Earlier, a large number of people had gathered at the spot, with police making an effort to vacate it fearing the building might collapse further.