Death Toll Rises to Five in Bengaluru Building Collapse

The 5-storey building on Central Jail Road near Haralur in Kasavanahalli was under construction when it collapsed.

Visuals at the site of the collapse.

(Photo: PTI)

Two more people lost their lives at the site of the building collapse at Kasavanahalli in Bengaluru, bringing the death toll to five.

On 16 February, the NDRF recovered the body of Raja, who used to work as a watchman in the building. Another victim, 18-year-old Hazrath, succumbed to internal injuries after he was shifted to a private hospital. Officials say the death toll is expected to rise.

The five-storeyed building – on Central Jail Road near Haralur in Kasavanahalli – was under construction when it collapsed on 15 February, injuring seven people and trapping several others.

Rescue operations underway.

The government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased. Mayor Sampath Raj told The News Minute: "According to initial reports, three people have died after the building collapsed. Rescue operations are underway."

Personnel from the State Disaster Relief Force and the National Disaster Force were deployed for the rescue operations.

They had constructed five storeys in the building, but only three were sanctioned.

Mayor to The News Minutes

Police on the spot.

Police said the under construction building at Kasavanahalli suddenly collapsed at about 3.30 pm, and the first responder vehicle had left the station at 4.25pm, according to a Fire and Emergency Response Team official.

The owners of the house, Kunni Ahmed and his son-in-law Rafiq, are from Kerala and are residents of HSR Layout. They are not in town and we are trying to track down their business partner. Six people who were rescued have been admitted to a private hospital nearby.

DCP Abdul Ahad to The News Minute

The building was being developed for the last six years and the construction had been halted two years ago, according to The News Minute.

Visuals from the site of the incident.

Bengaluru’s Crumbling Buildings

The Kasavanahalli collapse comes days after two buildings – one in Yeshwantpur and another in Jayanagar – had tilted to one side.

In October 2017, seven people, including a pregnant woman, died when a two-storey house crumbled down in Bengaluru’s Ejipura.  

An illegally-constructed building was demolished in Bengaluru’s Ejipura, after it began to lean dangerously on one side in August 2017. That time, it was the building of extra floors that was not part of the approved plan which caused the mishap.

Earlier in 2016, at least three persons were killed when a multi-storey under-construction residential building collapsed at Bellandur in south-east Bengaluru.

(With inputs from The News Minute and PTI.)

(This story has been updated to reflect the rise in death toll)