House collapses amid rain in Kanpur, four of family killed
Four members of a family were killed and another seriously injured after their house collapsed amid rain in Hirni village here on Sunday, September 6, police said.
The front portion of the kutcha house was completely damaged, while a room-like structure in the rear portion was partially damaged, they said.
Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal said all five family members were trapped under the debris after the house collapsed around 11 am.
Police, fire brigade personnel and local residents rescued them and took them to the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Patara, where four of them were declared dead.
Three fire tenders equipped with rescue equipment and a mobile disaster response vehicle were deployed at the spot. The exact cause of the collapse was being investigated, Lal told PTI.
The deceased were identified as Mukesh Kumar and his daughters Maya, 17, Neetu, 7, and Pallavi, 5.
Kumar's third daughter, Kajal, was seriously injured and is undergoing treatment at Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital (LLR) in Kanpur, police said.
Kumar's cousin Tej Bahadur Singh alleged police negligence, claiming that the family repeatedly called the Saadh police after the collapse but their calls were initially not answered.
He alleged that villagers had to begin the rescue operation themselves and worked for nearly two hours to pull the trapped family members out of the debris.
The family also alleged that treatment at the Patara CHC was delayed as no doctor was available when the victims were brought there.
They demanded an impartial inquiry into the alleged lapses and action against those responsible.
According to the family, Kajal, also known as Laxmi, was due to get married in December.
(With inputs from PTI)
