Building Collapse Kills 2, Injures 8 In Film Nagar

In a shocking incident, at least two labourers were killed and eight were injured after an under-construction building at the Film Nagar Cultural Centre collapsed in Hyderabad today.

The police and fire departments, and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials launched a joint rescue operation immediately. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also joined the operation.

"They are still trying to rescue another 12 labourers believed to be trapped under the debris," officials said.

The deceased labourers have been identified as Ansar Shaik from Kolkata and Anand from Hyderabad. The injured have been rushed to Apollo Hospital. Many of them are in a critical condition, as per the officials.

The building was still under construction when it collapsed. At least 50 workers were engaged in the construction work. The slab work had been completed on Saturday night.

A GHMC official said that the owners had not received any official permission to construct the building as the land's ownership was still under dispute and a case was pending in the court concerning the same.

Faulty architecture was blamed for the building's sudden collapse. The plan included six floors, of which four had already been constructed. The local police said that the owners didn't have any permission to construct the two extra floors.

A GHMC Additional Commissioner said that the NDRF with the assistance of GHMC was inquiring into the incident. He opined that the mishap might have happened due to the lack of adherence to quality standards. He added the untimely construction of the roof to the list of causes of the collapse, as only 24 hours had passed since the construction of the 4th floor.

GHMC Mayor Bonthu Rammohan reprimanded the Film Nagar Club members saying that they should own up responsibility for the incident.

"We haven't been able reach the contractor of the building yet," he added.

Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao expressed shock, and promised to pay ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and free treatment to the injured.