Chandigarh, 05 July (H.S.): A 54-year-old two-storey commercial building collapsed suddenly on Saturday evening in Phase-2 of Chandigarh's Industrial Area, killing two people and trapping several others under the debris. Five people were rescued safely during a rescue operation that lasted nearly five and a half hours. Teams from the Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the Chandigarh Administration jointly carried out the operation.

The deceased have been identified as Tarun Jain (45) and Tarun Kaushish (48), both residents of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The injured—Kuldeep Singh, Kulbir Singh, Umesh, Rahul, and Ajit—are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The Chandigarh Administration said that officials from the Estate Office and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will inspect the site on Sunday. Authorities have also decided to conduct a survey of old and unsafe buildings across the city to prevent similar incidents in the future.

According to M.P.S. Chawla, President of the Industry Association, the building located at Plot No. 28/9 was in a dilapidated condition and was being used for scrap-related work. He said the roof collapsed due to the building's deteriorated structural condition.

Officials said the building was allotted in 1972 and constructed the same year. It had been rented out only about 15 days ago, and work had recently begun at the premises. Continuous rainfall over the past two days is also being considered a possible contributing factor, as moisture had weakened the structure.

Chandigarh Mayor Saurabh Joshi said that six to seven people were inside the building when it collapsed. Four people were rescued in the initial phase, while the remaining victims were pulled out later from the debris. He added that the building was very old and renovation work was also underway at the time of the incident.

NDRF Commander Deepak Singh said that in the final phase of the rescue operation, two of the most severely trapped victims were pulled out from beneath the debris. Both were critically injured and were evacuated with full medical precautions. He added that a team of doctors remained deployed at the site throughout the operation to provide immediate medical assistance whenever required.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH