An under-construction building at the Kannauj railway station collapsed on Saturday afternoon, trapping around two dozen workers under the rubble. At least 23 people have been injured in the incident. Six of them were pulled out of the debris and rushed to hospital. The North Eastern Railway (NER) said it has constituted a three-member committee to probe the incident.
“According to preliminary information, the incident occurred when the under-construction shuttering of the roof collapsed,” said District Magistrate (DM) Shubhrant Kumar Shukl.
Taking cognisance of the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to ensure safe recovery of those trapped inside and their proper medical treatment. State Relief Commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami is in touch with the Kannauj district administration for all possible help in relief work, state government officials said.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed at the site where frantic efforts are underway to rescue the workers. Ambulances have been kept on standby to provide first aid and take the injured to hospital.
Roof shuttering is a temporary structure that supports concrete while it sets. Minister of State (Independent Charge), Social Welfare, Asim Arun also reached the spot.
Construction was going on for the new terminal of the Kannauj railway station under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Arun said. “Once the rescue operation is completed, a thorough probe will be launched into the incident,” he said.
The NER division of the Indian Railways said in a statement that it has formed a high-level three-member committee to investigate the incident at the Kannauj railway station.
“The investigation team will include the chief engineer, planning and design; the additional divisional railway manager, Izzatnagar; and the chief security commissioner of the Railway Protection Force,” the statement quoted Chief Public Relations Officer of NER Pankaj Kumar Singh as saying.
