One person was trapped under the debris and five persons injured, two of them seriously, when the walls of Nanking, a Chinese food restaurant at Parklane, Secenderabad, collapsed on Tuesday. Fire and police personnel started a frantic rescue effort to dig out the man trapped under the debris. Mr G.P Vasu Sena ACP, Mahankali, said the rescue mission was still going on. Mahankali police officials said the walls of the kitchen collapsed when seven employees were working at 10.30 pm. Around 10 customers who were in the restaurant ran out of the building as the walls collapsed with a loud sound.
According to witnessess, a part of the roof and two side walls of the kitchen came down, trapping three workers inside for more than half-an-hour, while two others were injured. A storeroom close to the kitchen also collapsed completely, but there was reportedly no one inside it. According to Mr Ch. Srikanth, deputy commissioner of police, North Zone, five injured workers were rushed to a corporate hospital nearby. The conditions of three of the injured was declared to be out of danger. The building housing the hotel is said to be 35 years old, and the hotel management had reportedly not taken any safety measures. DCP Srikant said once the rescue mission is completed, a case may be booked against the hotel officials for endangering life of others.