Southern India's police detained five officialsw from construction company Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for lost workers who are possibly buried in the piles of cement from a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 26 people.
An estimated number of 90 contract workers were thought to have been in the basement of the 11-story structure to collect their salary when an unexpected collapse happened last saturdayon the outskirts of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.
Police declared eight dead on the spot and another seven succumbed to injuries in a hospital. Another 20 people have been pulled out alive.
Rescuers could hear feeble voices in the debris, said T.S. Sridhar, the disaster management agency commissioner. Officials used gas cutters, iron rods and shovels after cranes lifted concrete blocks to get to the survivors.
J. Jayalalitha, the state's top elected official, visited the site on Sunday and said another 40 people may still be trapped under the debris, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
S.P Selvam said that one of the biggest challenge is removing the debris and the clearing operation might take two to three days. Due to moderate to heavy rains, rescuers are having some difficulties that cause some delays on the rescue team.
Another police officer, George Fernandes said that company officials including two directors, two engineers and one supervisor were detained for further investigation regarding the accident.
Balaguru who is one of the builders said that the collapse might be caused by the impact of strong lightning that totally affect the whole structure.
He added during an interview by the Press Trust of India news agency that they were supposed to install an equipment that will prevent the building from thunder strike, immediately after they would finish the construction which was nearing completion.
Earlier Saturday, a list of 11 people died and one survivor was being cured in a hospital after four-story, 50-year-old building collapsed in an area of New Delhi.
According to police officer Madhur Verma, most home around the capital were build without permission and most of it were made from substandard materials.
Building collapse, like what happened last Saturday is one of the common thing in India. High demand for housing and lax regulations motivated some of the builders to cut corners, use cheaper and substandard materials or add unauthorized extra floors.
In April last year, 74 people were killed after an eight-story building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra state caved in. It was the worst building collapse in the country in decades.
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