Ambala, September 28: A three-storey building under construction collapsed on Sunday afternoon in Dhulkot village near Ambala city in Haryana, killing several workers. By Sunday evening the administration had confirmed four deaths, while reports on Monday morning put the toll at six. NDRF and SDRF teams worked to pull out people trapped under the debris.
Update (September 28, evening): The death toll has risen to six. According to The Tribune:
- The district administration confirmed six deaths and said the rescue operation was complete. Deputy Commissioner Sachin Gupta met the injured at the civil hospital.
- The dead were identified as Rajinder Kumar (50, Sonta village, Ambala), Kalia Ram (48, Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh), Shastri Ram (50, Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh), Roop Singh (55, Dangdera, Punjab), Malkit Singh (Punjab) and Ramji Das (Ambala).
- The building was allegedly being built without approval. The district administration will form an inquiry committee.
- Families of the dead demanded an FIR against the building’s owner; no FIR had been registered at the time of the report.
Source: The Tribune: Toll rises to 6 in Ambala building collapse, kin demand FIR against owner
Key highlights
- When and where: about 3 pm on September 27, Dhulkot village (Ambala city).
- Deaths: four confirmed by Sunday evening; reports on Monday morning put the figure at six.
- Rescue: 13 people were pulled from the debris; on Sunday the administration feared 15–20 people were trapped.
- Workers on site: about 35–40 workers were at work when the building collapsed.
- Action: the contractor is reported to be absconding; the administration has promised strict action against those responsible.
How it happened
According to The Tribune, a lintel (roof slab) was being laid on the third floor when the building collapsed. A worker at the site, Karamjit, told Khabargaon that plastering was under way on the first floor and casting on the second when the shuttering (support structure) of the third floor gave way, and within moments a large part of the building came down.
Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Shekhawat said the upper, middle and first floors of the building had partly collapsed and several workers were feared buried in the debris. It is not yet clear whether the building had approval from the municipal corporation.
The dead and injured
The four dead identified in The Tribune’s Sunday report were Rajinder Kumar (50) of Sonta village in Ambala, Kalia Ram (48) of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, Shastri Ram (50) of Bahraich and Roop Singh (55) of Dangdera in Punjab. In other words, most of the dead were migrant workers from other states.
Ambala Civil Surgeon Dr Renu Berry said four people were brought dead to the hospital in the evening. According to ThePrint (Hindi), 12 workers were injured, seven of whom were discharged after treatment. SDM Darshan Kumar called the accident deeply tragic.
The collapse in numbers
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Workers on site | About 35–40 | Reports from the site |
| Pulled out of the debris | 13 | Khabargaon |
| Injured | 12, of whom 7 discharged | ThePrint (Hindi) |
| Dead (final) | 6, four of them from outside Haryana | The Tribune |
| Share of the dead from other states (our calculation) | 4 of 6, about two-thirds | The Tribune’s list |
The rescue
Local people began clearing the debris immediately after the collapse. NDRF, SDRF, police and administration teams then reached the site and the rescue went on through the night. According to Republic Bharat’s report on Monday morning, the death toll had risen to six and some workers could still be trapped under the debris. The administration later said the rescue was complete (see the update above).
The bigger question: safety on construction sites
The accident again points to neglect of safety on construction sites. Early information suggests work was going on on several floors at once and the shuttering gave way while a lintel was being laid on top. Such accidents are often caused by:
- shuttering and supports that are weak or wrongly installed;
- loading upper floors before the concrete on the floors below has fully set;
- construction without an approved plan or an engineer’s supervision;
- a lack of helmets, safety belts and insurance for workers.
Earlier this month, a slab of a building under construction also collapsed in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, though all 15 workers there were rescued (read). The firecracker factory blast in Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh, raised similar questions about workplace safety (read).
What to watch
- The findings of the inquiry committee: whether the building’s plan was approved and who was supervising the construction.
- Whether an FIR is registered against the owner and the contractor, as the families have demanded.
- Compensation for the families of the dead and free treatment for the injured.
What it means
Most of those who died were migrant workers, who rarely have insurance or formal contracts. The inquiry needs to establish the responsibility of the contractor and the owner, and whether the building had the approvals it needed. Without that, accidents like this tend to end with compensation and no change in how sites are run.
This article was first published in Hindi and has been translated. The Press of Asia now publishes in English only.
Sources
- The Tribune: Four dead, several injured in 3-storey building collapse in Ambala
- The Tribune: Toll rises to 6 in Ambala building collapse, kin demand FIR against owner
- ThePrint (Hindi): Three-storey building under construction collapses near Ambala city
- Khabargaon (Hindi): 3-storey building collapses in Ambala, 6 dead, 13 rescued
- Republic Bharat (Hindi): 6 dead in Ambala accident
The National Desk covers India's politics, governance, security and public-interest news. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
