Two rescued, two trapped as building collapses in Punjab

Chandigarh, Feb 8 (IANS) Two people are trapped as a three-storey commercial building collapsed on the outskirts of the city in Punjab on Saturday, police said. Two people were rescued. No casualty has been reported yet as rescue operations were underway and a magisterial probe was ordered. A JCB was digging earth for making a basement of a hotel, developed by Ambika Greens, when suddenly the nearby building, housing the office of a builder, on Landran Road caved in on the Kharar-Landran road in Kharar in Mohali district. Two mobile towers also collapsed. Sub-divisional Magistrate Himanshu Jain told the media that contact has been established with one stuck perosn, who has been provided food and water. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been carrying out the rescue operation. Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said the Indian Army is on standby and additional NDRF reinforcements are on the way. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed anguish over the incident.
--IANS vg/prs