7 dead in Vadodara twin building collapse; Narendra Modi orders probe

VADODRA: At least seven persons were killed and 40 feared to be trapped under the debris as two multi-storey buildings collapsed in Madhavnagar locality here in the wee hours today.

The twin multi-storey buildings collapsed behind Atladara area around 4:30 AM, catching the sleeping occupants unaware, H J Tapariya, chief fire brigade officer of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation said.

According to Tapariya, about 13 to 14 families were staying in the building constructed by the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA)

The injured have been rushed to government and private hospitals for treatment.

"Around seven persons were killed, and so far 14 people have been rescued. Another 40 are believed to be trapped under the debris," District Collector, Vadodara, Vinod Rao told PTI.

The army personnel and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are assisting the fire brigade officials in the rescue operations.

Expressing grief over the incident, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the dead and also ordered constitution of an enquiry commission to probe the incident, officials said.

"Modi has ordered formation of an inquiry commission to probe the collapse of building," they said. Modi also tweeted about the incident saying, "Heard about the collapse of two buildings in Vadodara. Rescue operations have begun."

Atladara is a newly developed locality after merger of Atladara village with Vadodara city a few years ago. The twin buildings were constructed in 2002, officials said.

Minister in-charge of Vadodara, Nitin Patel, will visit the spot, officials said. Manish Bhardwaj, Vadodara Municipal Commissioner, Satish Sharma, City Police Commissioner and city Mayor Bharat Shah and other senior officials are overseeing the rescue work, which is going on in full swing.