Labourer Killed, Two Trapped in Punjab Rupnagar House Collapse

In a tragic incident in Preet Colony, one out of five labourers lost their life after being trapped under the debris due to the collapse of a two-storey house on Thursday, as confirmed by the police. The collapse occurred amidst construction activities aimed at raising the lintel of the house. A rescue operation promptly ensued, during which three labourers were extracted from the rubble. Tragically, one was pronounced dead, and the other two were urgently transported to PGIMER, Chandigarh for medical attention. Efforts continued to rescue the two remaining labourers still trapped.

The rescue operation saw the mobilization of multiple teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Punjab Police, and fire brigade units. An unexpected loud explosion was reported at the time of the building's collapse, adding to the urgency of the rescue efforts.

Rajinder Kaur, the owner of the house, revealed that the structure was originally built in 1984. The ongoing work involved using jacks to lift the lintel of the house, a process that was underway when the tragedy struck. In light of this incident, Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav emphasized that the administration's immediate focus was on ensuring the safe rescue of all labourers caught in the debris. She also announced that an inquiry would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the collapse. Yadav, alongside Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Khurana, took charge of overseeing the rescue operations.

This unfortunate event has cast a spotlight on construction safety standards and emergency response mechanisms in place for such unforeseen disasters. The community awaits further updates as efforts to rescue the remaining labourers continue and as authorities begin their investigation into the incident.