Four people were killed and 20 others sustained injuries after a three-story rice mill building collapsed in Taraori town in the district in the wee hours on Tuesday, said the police. Many people are still feared to be trapped inside the rubble and the rescue operation is going on. The deceased have been identified as Sanjay Kumar, Chandan, Avdhesh, and Pankaj. The incident took place at around 3 am at Shiv Shakti rice mill when a portion of the building collapsed and resulted in this tragic incident. At that time, around 150 labourers were sleeping. There were 24 rooms and one verandah on each floor. After the incident, nearby people sounded an alarm and informed the police. Police and district administration reached the spot and started a rescue operation. Two bodies were recovered by 5 am and the others at around 7.30 am. Deputy Commissioner Anish Yadav and the Superintendent of Police (SP) are at the spot to monitor the rescue operation. Debris is being removed with the help of machines and the team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is there to expedite the rescue operation. Rescue workers are still searching for people as eyewitnesses believed more people could be under the rubble. DC Yadav has constituted a team led by the SDM to determine the reasons behind the incident. The team members comprising engineers of the PWD (B&R) will check the strength of the structure. “NDRF teams will confirm if there is any person under the debris,” SP Sawan said. He maintained that all the deceased have been identified and their bodies have been sent for postmortem examination. “We will wait for the report of the committee constituted by the DC for further action,” said the SP. DC Yadav said that the building was around 10-12 years old and the reasons behind the incident were being determined. “Four bodies have been recovered and 20 received injuries. The injured are undergoing treatment at KCGMC and nearby hospitals,” said the DC. Nine people, including Sitaram, Vakil, Chottu, Sham, Devdhar, Bharat, and three others, were rushed to the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College (KCGMC), of them three were discharged after first aid, while Chottu and Devdhar were referred to PGI Rohtak. Meanwhile, Karnal police have registered a case under Sections 304 and 34 of the IPC against the rice mill owner Ramesh Gupta on the complaint of Remesh Mehto, the contractor who provided labourers to the mill.
