Pune building collapse: Death toll climbs to 8, one person still missing

Pune, July 12 (IANS) The death toll in the Moshi garbage dump collapse in Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad has increased to eight after rescue teams recovered the bodies of seven more victims from the damaged administrative building of the Waste-to-Energy project on Saturday, officials said on Sunday.

Rescue personnel also confirmed that one person is still unaccounted for, and search operations are continuing to locate the missing individual.

The incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday when a massive mound of garbage gave way and crashed onto the administrative building located inside the Moshi garbage depot operated by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

At the time of the collapse, a total of 23 people were trapped. Of them, 22 were inside the administrative building, while one person was buried beneath a large heap of garbage adjacent to the structure.

Five individuals managed to escape safely immediately after the incident.

Following the collapse, authorities launched an extensive rescue operation involving personnel from the Indian Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) Fire Services and the police.

On the first day of the operation, rescue teams succeeded in pulling nine people out of the damaged building alive. Search efforts then continued to locate those who remained trapped inside the debris.

On Thursday, rescuers recovered Bhavesh Wani from the collapsed structure and immediately shifted him to a hospital. However, doctors declared him dead upon arrival.

The operation to reach the remaining victims continued over the following days, but rescue teams encountered major challenges due to the unstable condition of the damaged building, which posed a significant risk to personnel involved in the mission.

To facilitate the rescue work, heavy machinery, including 12 excavators, dumpers and JCB machines, was deployed to remove debris surrounding the building and create a safer passage for rescue teams.

Despite continuous efforts, the precarious state of the structure made it extremely difficult for rescuers to enter the building.

In a bid to accelerate the operation, two advanced demolition excavators were brought to the site on Friday night.

Working under the technical supervision of the NDRF, rescue personnel carefully dismantled the most hazardous concrete sections of the collapsed building in a controlled manner.

The process enabled teams to gain access to the interior of the structure and resume the search operation.

During the rescue operation on Saturday, teams located seven people trapped inside the building. All seven were immediately shifted to a hospital in Pimpri, where medical officers examined them and declared them dead.

With the recovery of these bodies, the overall death toll in the tragedy has risen to eight.

Meanwhile, one individual, believed to be buried beneath the garbage mound adjacent to the collapsed building, remains missing. Rescue personnel continue to carry out the search operation on a war footing.

Officials said NDRF dog squads, along with specialised search equipment, are being used to locate the missing person.

–IANS

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