Wall of under-construction hotel collapses, one dead

A worker was killed when a wall of an under-construction hotel collapsed in Sector 18 on Sunday evening.

Out of the nine labourers working at the construction site, three of them — namely Sita Ram Yadav, 20, Ashok, 21, and Mahinder Yadav, 25 — were stuck under the debris. The incident happened late in the evening. While Ashok and Mahinder were rescued immediately, Sita Ram was stuck deep under the debris. He could not be located for an hour. When he was taken out, he was rushed to the hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16 (GMSH-16).

Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar rushed to the site. "Necessary safety precautions were not taken. A case will be registered against the contractor," he said.

The contractor, Kishan, was rounded up by the police for questioning. The construction site was an extension of the Jallandhar Hotel in Sector 22.

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shayin reached the spot while the rescue operation was under way. He then went to the GMSH-16 and announced that medical expenses of the injured would be borne by the UT administration. "A detailed report will be submitted after investigating the matter," he added.

A six-member team of the fire and emergency services department took part in the rescue operation.

The construction at the site had begun in September-end. The renovation of the hotel was on with the old building having been demolished. However, one wall of the old building that had not been demolished collapsed. The rescue team faced difficulty in taking out people due to various problems at the site. The mud at the site was quite loose, not allowing the team to conduct their operation properly. There was a danger of the remaining structure collapsing. The team used planks of wood to make it stable.

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