3 dead, 11 hurt as buildings collapse in Mizoram

Aizawl, July 3 (IANS) Three people including two children were killed and 11 others injured when three blocks of a government housing complex collapsed due to a landslide here in Mizoram, officials said on Wednesday.Officials of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) said that over 100 people were evacuated and were being sheltered in a community centre. Those killed in the building collapse, which occurred on Tuesday evening at Durtlang on the outskirts of the Aizawl city, have been identified as Lalnunfeli, 13, Sainghinglovi, 52, and Lalpeksanga, 8."The buildings collapsed due to a huge landslide following heavy rains witnessed in the last two days. The housing complex was constructed by a government of India agency under the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP)," the NDRF official told the media.Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Wednesday visited the accident site and the Synod Hospital where the injured were being treated.The search and rescue operation, which included volunteers from the Young Mizo Association, Mizoram's apolitical powerful NGO, was declared closed.The BSUP is a central government-sponsored scheme. The houses (buildings) were allotted last year to 18 poor families.
--IANS sc/pg