Hyderabad building collapse: Two dead, several injured in Madhapur

At least two people died, and others were injured when a seven-storey under-construction building collapsed in Anjaiah Nagar, Madhapur, Hyderabad, on Saturday (August 22) afternoon, according to Cyberabad Police, reported ANI.

Rescue teams reach collapse site

Madhapur police, HYDRAA and NDRF teams reached the site after the collapse. The building reportedly stood on a 50-square-yard plot, where construction work had stopped earlier. Labourers were present when the structure gave way.

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"An unauthorised building under the jurisdiction of the Madhapur Police Station collapsed, and a portion of it fell onto the adjacent building,” Damodhar Singh, DY Commandant, NDRF 10 Battalion, said.

"It was a seven-story structure; following the collapse, the topmost floor landed on the floor of the neighbouring building,” he added.

"Essentially, the floors, from the first through the seventh, collapsed vertically," Singh said.

Two deaths confirmed

Two deaths have been confirmed. One person in the building that was struck was injured and rescued. "That individual was rescued and immediately sent to the hospital," Singh said.

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Rescue teams searched the site repeatedly. "We have conducted searches using both canine units and cameras—multiple times—but so far, no further victims have been detected," added Singh.

Officials flag structural concerns

Describing the condition of the collapsed building, the NDRF official said, "It was structurally weak, likely because it was still under construction,” he said, adding, "Labourers were working there, so there may have been some lapse or structural deficiency."

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HYDRA Commissioner AV Ranganath said the building had "7+1, almost 8-storey" and was constructed on about 60 square yards. "It came down this afternoon, and two bodies were retrieved," he said.

HYDRAA to probe permissions

Ranganath said the building was constructed on a "nala" and questioned whether it had received the required permissions. "We'll verify all those, and we'll definitely we'll see that the buildings which are unauthorised or built on the Nala will be demolished here," he said.

He also named a person called Sajid in connection with the construction. "The culprit, Sajid, is in the habit of constructing such unauthorised buildings," Ranganath said. "We'll try to work out where all he has built such things; also we'll find out the details...,” he added.