Bengaluru: An 80 year old woman was buried alive while four other members of a family, including a one-month-old baby, got critically injured when a two-storey residential building collapsed near Lingarajapuram flyover in Banasawadi police station limits on Tuesday evening.
While the police have identified the deceased as Joe Mary, who was living with her son Joseph in the first floor as a tenant for the past five years, the four members of a family, who got critically injured, were staying on the ground floor.
The injured have been identified as Gayatri (32), Nirmala (25), Jacob (9) and a one-month-old baby. They have been living there for three years.
According to police, the incident occurred around 5.30 pm when the 40-year-old two-storey building collapsed. Joe Mary was sitting at the staircase while the family staying on the ground floor was busy with their daily chores.
The incident came to light after nearby residents alerted the police and fire control room. They rushed to the spot and rescued the four family members. It took nearly three hours for the fire officials, rescue team and locals to rescue them. The police officials are yet to ascertain the reason for the building collapse.
Meanwhile, Home Minister K.J. George visited the spot along with BBMP commissioner M. Lakshminarayan and announced that the government would bear with the medical expenses for the treatment of the injured.
Addressing reporters the Minister said that the building was at least 40 years old and warned that owners of all old buildings in the city would be issued notices. He said, “In areas where the BBMP identifies old buildings, the owners of such old and fragile structures will be issued notices to vacate them.”
The BBMP Commissioner said the government had announced Rs 3 lakh compensation on compassionate grounds. “The deceased was the sole breadwinner of the family.
There are three other members in her family, but she used to work as a domestic help and run the family. Since it is a poor family, the government announced compensation,” he said. Banasawadi police have registered a case and begun investigations.
