7 Dead, Many Feared Trapped after 6-Storey Building Collapses in Surat

Surat: As many as seven dead bodies have been recovered from the debris of a six-storey building that collapsed on Saturday in Surat. While the search operation is still underway, the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

Chief Fire Officer Basant Pareek confirmed that the search operation continued throughout the night, resulting in recovering of the dead bodies. 

"The search operation continued throughout the night. Seven dead bodies have been recovered," said Pareek.

Six-Storey Building Collapses in Surat

On Saturday afternoon around 2.45 pm amidst heavy downpours in parts of Gujarat, a six-storey building in Pal area of Surat city collapsed. According to the reports, around 4 to 5 families used to reside in the building, which was built about seven years ago.

Seven bodies have been recovered in the operation that continued through the night, Sachin GIDC police station inspector Jignesh Chaudhari said.

After the incident, the rescue operation was launched with the help of teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local fire department.

A woman rescued soon after the building collapse was rushed to a hospital where she was undergoing treatment, Chaudhari said. "While the operation to remove the rubble continues, we do not think there is anyone else trapped inside," he said.

A notice regarding the building's stability had been issued by the corporation. The FSL team is also conducting an investigation on-site. Police will take further action by registering an FIR, said Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot.

Gehlot, who arrived at the scene to supervise the rescue efforts, mentioned that the voices of those trapped were initially heard. He said that the building was constructed in 2016-17.

(More details are awaited)