Bengaluru: Residents of Jayanagar’s Someshwaranagar near Nimhans woke up on Monday morning to the shock of an entire floor of a six-storey under-construction building caving in by 10-15 feet, killing two labourers and trapping eight others under debris.
Police and fire and emergency services personnel managed to rescue eight labourers and rushed them to Nimhans and Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
Seven of the injured labourers were discha­rged by Monday evening, while one has been admitted as an in-patient at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
The accident occurred around 8.30 am when 20 labourers had just finished breakfast, while 50 more had alre­ady begun work on various floors. Suddenly, the nine-foot foundation pillars in the basement gave way with the entire floor caving in.
“The earth shifted ben­e­ath our feet and the bui­l­d­ing sank into the gro­u­nd. We were working on the fourth floor when it happened. We rushed down thinking the entire building would collapse,” said Badal (32), a construction worker.
Windowpanes shattered and cracks began runn­ing up the walls as the sinking building groaned and came to rest nearly 15 feet lower, leaning against the twin building behind it.Rescue workers recove­red the bodies of Naga­m­ma (45) from Rai­c­hur and Nepal Parswan (60)  from Bihar by Monday evening.
The police said the cons­t­ruction of twin apartm­ents began last Nove­mber, and that the BBMP had granted perm­ission to build a ground plus two floors. But the owner– Sal­eem alias ‘Chair’ Sal­eem from Lak­k­­asandra – had constructed seven floors. Siddapura police have registered a case against Saleem, who is absconding.
BBMP assistant executive engineer Panchak­shari and assistant engineer Santosh have been suspended. 
I saw my father vanish under concrete: Labourer
Prakruti Koratagere | DC

Fire brigade personnel near the collapsed building in Someshwarnagar on Monday
Bengaluru: Nearly 120 labourers, including several minors, were contracted to work on two adjoining buildings owned by one Saleem alias ‘Chair’ Saleem on 9th Cross, Someshwaranagar in Siddapura. 
Around 8.30 am on Monday, most of the workers were finishing their breakfast, while some had already begun work on the higher floors of both buildings.
Nepal Parswan (60) from Bihar had just entered the parking lot in the basement to use the toilet when a deafening crash was heard, and the entire floor sunk into the ground.
Nepal’s body was fished out from under the debris around 7 pm on Monday. Another labourer, Ningamma (45), who was also at the basement when the building collapsed, was crushed to death. Her body was recovered late on Monday night. Eight other labourers who were at the basement when the incident occurred were rescued and given treatment.
A teary-eyed Rajesh told Deccan Chronicle that his father had arrived from Bihar just 10 days ago. “My older brother Ajay and I came to the city two months ago to work at the construction site. Ajay was also injured when the floor caved in,” he said. Transport and city in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy and home minister K.J. George visited the spot of the accident. 
Additional commissioner of police (law and order) Kamal Pant told Deccan Chronicle that the owner, ‘Chair’ Saleem, was absconding. “We have not found Saleem yet, but efforts are on to trace him. The police and fire and emergency services personnel managed to locate both bodies of the missing workers by Monday night,” he added.  
Seven injured discharged
The eight labourers injured in the accident were treated at different hospitals in the city.
The injured labourers, who were in the age group of 17-25 years, were rushed to Nimhans immediately after the accident. Dr V.L. Sateesh, Medical Superintendent, Nimhans, said, “All of them had sustained minor injuries in the head and scratches. We gave them necessary treatment, and got CT scan and X-ray done. Seven of them were discharged as they were stable.” Dr B.G. Tilak, Director, Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics said, “Amul Bawan (30) was rushed to our hospital. He has injured his left leg and sustained a fracture in his left toe. We have kept him under observation after giving him required treatment.”
Two engineers suspended for negligence
Two BBMP engineers were suspended for negligence, leading to the collapse of the building, which was being constructed in violation of the sanctioned building plant.
Transport and Bengaluru district in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who inspected the spot, directed BBMP commissioner M. Lakshminarayan to suspend the officials responsible for allowing the unauthorised construction and not taking action against the building owner.
Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that the owner of the plot had obtained sanctioned building plan for ground and two floors, but constructed ground plus six floors.
Neighbours to vacate homes
 

One of the two buildings sank into the earth by nearly 15 feet
Bengaluru: As transport and city in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy finished addressing the media, he was stopped by two aggrieved women who are residents of houses next to the collapsed buildings. 
The women started complaining that they had been told to move out of their houses as a precautionary measure and they had nowhere to go. Lakshmi (35) and Sunandamma (40) calmed down only after the minister brought the chief engineer in front of the duo and ordered him to ensure that the affected families would be suitably rehabilitated until further notice.        
120 labourers on job: About 120 labourers across  the country had been working on the twin buildings for a while. The official number of injured persons who were rescued is eight.
Of them, six were discharged from NIMHANS and one from Sanjay Gandhi hospital by Monday evening. The workers have been identified as Lakshman Tasman (40), Ajay Parswan (22), Sanjay Burman (17), and Sushanth Burman (18) from Bihar; and Lalu Kumar (17), Gauri Basman (30), and Gopal Basman (35) from West Bengal. Another worker named Amulu Bawan (30) is being treated as an in-patient at Sanjay Gandhi hospital. 
How the rescue operation played out: Ambulances, fire and emergency services trucks had to park 100-150 meters from the building, owing to the lack of space to navigate the vehicles. Rescue personnel and the police had a tough time barricading off the building area after ensuring that the occupants of nearby houses had vacated.