Himachal building collapse, 7 dead, several feared trapped

Incessant rains caused the collapse of a multi-storey building which housed a small eatery and a small guest house. It killed at least seven Indian Army soldiers while injuring several many. The building is located on Kumarhatti-Nahan in Solan, around 45 km from capital Shimla.

The death toll from the collapse of a three-storey building in the Himachal Pradesh’s Solan rose to seven after four more bodies, all Indian Army soldiers, were pulled out from debris during the rescue operation

As reported by Zee News, District authorities are carrying out the rescue operation with the help of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Army personnel at the moment.Two teams of National Disaster Response Force or NDRF reached the site of the accident to carry out rescue operations. A third team has also been dispatched to help with the operations. Rescue operations continued through the night, according to the police.

Nearly 12 more people, including seven soldiers, were still feared trapped in the building. Twenty-seven people, including 17 soldiers and 10 civilians, have been rescued from the debris.

Those injured in the incident have been rushed to a nearby hospital.

The Army said that a total of 30 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) of Assam Rifles, all from the nearby Dagshai cantonment, were eating lunch there.

Nearly 15 civilians, including the eatery’s staff, were also present inside the building

The dead now includes six soldiers of the Indian Army and the wife of the building’s owner, according to officials. The dead JCOs have been identified as Raj Kishore, Balwinder Singh, Vinod, Ajit Kumar, Pardeep Chand and Yogesh and the woman as Archana Devi.

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