Two persons of a family killed in building collapse

Highlights

Two persons of a family were killed when a two-storied building collapsed at Nalam Bhimarajuvari street in Rajahmundry on Wednesday around 11.40 p.m. The members of the families were asleep when the building collapsed with a thud. On hearing the sound, neighbours rushed to the spot and informed the police.

  • Construction work in adjacent house to blame
  • 217 old buildings in Rajahmundry
  • Drive against vulnerable buildings soon

Rajahmundry: Two persons of a family were killed when a two-storied building collapsed at Nalam Bhimarajuvari street in Rajahmundry on Wednesday around 11.40 p.m. The members of the families were asleep when the building collapsed with a thud. On hearing the sound, neighbours rushed to the spot and informed the police.

Revenue, Municipal Corporation and Police personnel rescued four others trapped in the debris. The injured persons were taken shifted to the government hospital here. According to Rajahmundry urban police district SP T Ravikumar Murthy, Akula Veerannjaneyulu (60) and his wife Venkataratnam (55) were occupants of the house on the first floor of the building. Veeranjaneyulu’s son Hanuman and daughter-in-law Vijayalakshmi along with their two sons Bhargav and Jaswant resided on the second floor of the building. A portion on the ground floor has been given on rent to a provisions store.

Shoddy construction work taken up by a builder near Veeranjaneyulu’s building was said to have triggered the collapse of the building. The builder had dug up for laying foundation along the boundary wall of the collapsed building, which was built 13 years ago.The SP Ravikumar Murthy, CI Ramanamurthy, Municipal Commissioner V. Rajendra Prasad and his staff, district fire officer Udayakumar and Rajahmundry fire officer A Sekhar supervised rescue operations.

The rescue team initially pulled out from the collapsed building Veeranjaneyulu who had serious injuries on his waist. He was taken immediately to the government hospital where he succumbed to injuries. After three hours of rescue operations, the personnel could save two-year-old Bhargav and his parents Hanuman and Vijayalakshmi. However, the team could not find Jaswanth till the wee hours of Thursday.

The body of Jaswanth was found in the early hours of Thursday under the debris.The CI Ramanamurthy said that a case under sections 304-A, 338 and 337 was booked against the builder for causing death of two persons and injuries to four. The CI said that the accused was at large. Meanwhile, the Director of Town and Country Planning Timma Reddy initiated action against Rajahmundry City Planner Saibabu and his assistant.According to Rajahmundry Municipal Commissioner Dr V Rajendra Prasad, there are 217 old buildings in Rajahmundry which are vulnerable. He said that a special drive would be launched to remove the buildings soon. The rescue team members observed that Hanuman, Vijayalakshmi and Bhargav could survive as the cot on which they were sleeping overturned and the mattress fell on them.

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