Breaking News | 7 dead as six-storey building collapses in Gujarat’s Surat, many feared trapped. Building was built 8 years ago. Officials said that it collapsed due to incessant rains in the region from past couple of days. n18oc_india
It’s been three days since his son fell into a drain in flooded Guwahati, but Hiralal Sarkar has not given up yet. His relentless search continues for the eight-year-old Abhinash while the city – the largest in Assam – remains submerged.
Hiralal has been using an iron rod to search in the sewage, but his son’s slippers were all that he could find. Showing the pair, he lamented, “I have been searching with an iron rod and have managed to find my son’s sandals. I possibly cannot find him with the rod. The government has the machinery, they must find my boy.”
He has handed over the slippers to cops for verification.
Abhinash had slipped from his father’s scooter and fallen into the drain while returning home amid heavy rain on Thursday evening. Hiralal had said he saw his son’s hand in the drain and dived in, but could not get a hold of him.
The man spent the night on the veranda of a shop and vowed he wouldn’t rest till he found him. Since, wearing a t-shirt and half-pants, he has been wading through slush and garbage to look for his son.
The state authorities have launched a massive search operation involving multiple agencies to help Hiralal find his son. Sniffer dogs, super suckers, and excavators have been deployed too.
An official said parts of the drain covered with concrete slabs in the downstream areas are being lifted in an effort to trace the missing boy. Hiralal and his wife have also met Chief Minister Himanta Sarma, who has ordered the rescue teams to intensify their search operation.
Floods in Assam have claimed six lives over the past 24 hours while over 23 lakh remain on the edge.
In Guwahati, Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, and Rukminigaon continued to be under water for the fourth day while the Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at several places.
As many as 58 people have lost their lives due to floods in Assam so far this year.
Seven bodies were pulled out of the rubble a day after a six-storey building collapsed in Surat, officials said on Sunday. The residential building, which had 30 apartments and five were occupied, collapsed in Sachin Pali village amid incessant rains over the last few days.
“The search operation continued throughout the night. Seven dead bodies have been recovered,” Chief Fire Officer, Basant Pareek told news agency ANI. The seventh body was pulled out at 6 am, he added.
While the search operation is still on, rescuers believe no more residents are trapped under the debris.
On Saturday, a woman was rescued from under the debris, while 15 others were injured when the building came crashing down at around 2.45 pm, officials said.
Rescuers worked overnight to remove large concrete slabs that formed a mountain of debris at the site. NDRF and SDRF workers cut through the concrete to reach the trapped residents.
The building, constructed in 2017, had five families living inside it when it collapsed. According to police, several residents were at work when the collapse occurred but many others, who worked night shifts, were sleeping inside.
Locals said chaos ensued after the sudden collapse on Saturday and they rushed to save anyone they could from under the debris. While the building was only eight years old, most flats were vacant and dilapidated, officials said.
“Around five flats were occupied, mostly by those who work in factories in this area. When rescue work started, we heard the cries of those who were trapped. We rescued a woman from the rubble and sent her to hospital,” said Commissioner of Police, Surat, Anupam Gehlot.
Earlier, the senior police officer had said that around 6-7 people were suspected to be trapped under the rubble and rescue operations were on to pull them out. “We can hear their voices from inside the rubble. They will be rescued soon,” he said.