Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

The sea at Panaji, Goa, a popular backpacker destination, although it is believed that the victims of building collapse were construction workers. AP Photo/Gurinder Osan
India

At least 13 killed in Goa building collapse

Around 50 labourers were on-site at the time – the death toll is expected to rise.

THIRTEEN BODIES WERE pulled from the wreckage of a building under construction that collapsed in a coastal village in the Indian tourist state of Goa on Saturday, authorities said.

The residential building caved in at mid-afternoon, when around 50 labourers were working on the site, Shekhar Prabhudesai, superintendent of police, told AFP.

“We have got 13 bodies from the wreckage. We expect the death toll to rise,” said Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Rescue workers using cranes and bulldozers, shovels and bare hands, struggled to shift concrete slabs and other debris to free the workers as hundreds of onlookers stood watching the rescue efforts.

Construction work

The building collapse, the latest of a string of deadly construction cave-ins in India recently, occurred in the seaside village of Canacona, south of the capital city of Panaji.

Initial reports said that the building under construction was five stories.

Fire and emergency services crews rushed to the spot and the chief minister said military reinforcement had been called in.

“We will immediately arrest the builder, the contractor and municipal officials involved in sanctioning this construction site,” the chief minister said.

“I am personally monitoring the situation,” he added.

The bodies were shifted to a morgue at a nearby hospital.

- © AFP, 2014

Over a dozen killed as hotel wall collapses in India>
Primark to give three months’ wages to Bangladesh factory collapse victims>

Your Voice
Readers Comments
11
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.