Ten die as hotel collapses in Hyderabad

Ten people were killed when a hotel collapsed here early Monday, police said. The two-storey building of City Light Hotel on Rashtrapati Road in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, collapsed around 6.30 a.m. Police, fire fighting personnel and rescue workers managed to evacuate 11 people from the rubble and shifted them to government-run Gandhi Hospital. The conditions of some of the injured is stated to be critical. Many auto-rickshaw drivers and daily wage workers were at the famous joint to have Iranian tea and snacks. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma told reporters that so far six bodies were recovered while 11 injured were taken out. "We suspect another 20 people may be trapped under the debris," he said. The police chief said they sought help of search experts from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) workers were seen clearing the debris with the help of fire fighting personnel. GHMC commissioner Krishna Babu supervised the rescue operation. One of the rescued hotel workers said there were 30 workers in the building at the time of the incident. Locals said the City Light hotel was one of the 200 old buildings which were issued notices by the GHMC for demolition but the owner had reportedly got a court stay.