'Landslide' of garbage causes building collapse near Pune after heavy rains; 11 still feared trapped

Pune, Jul 8 (PTI) A three-storey building located over a waste-to-energey plant at Moshi in the district collapsed after a huge mound of garbage crashed onto it on Wednesday afternoon, officials said, adding that seven of the 18 people trapped under the rubble have been rescued so far. Efforts were underway to rescue the estimated 11 individuals who remain trapped, officials said late at night. Employees of Antony Lara Renewable Energy, which operates the 14MW power plant in collaboration with the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), were among those trapped, an official said. The Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, in a press release, said 23 people were believed to be trapped in the debris initially, and five of them managed to come out safely. A rescue operation was then launched to extricate others. "The operation was jointly carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, the Municipal Fire Brigade, the PMRDA Fire Brigade, and the police administration. After sustained efforts, seven more persons were rescued safely by 8 pm," it said. Rescue operations were continuing on a war footing to evacuate the remaining people, it added. Moshi Pradhikaran is a planned neighbourhood in the Pimpri-Chinchwad city near Pune. "The building stood next to a mountain-like pile of legacy (old) waste. Prima facie, it appears that due to heavy rains, the waste mound became loose and collapsed onto the building like a landslide," said Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi. The incident took place around 1.45 pm, another official said. Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan, who visited the site in the evening, said contact could be established with three of those trapped. "But the rubble has fallen on their legs and efforts are underway to remove it and bring them out. All agencies are working in coordination, and we are hopeful of completing the rescue operation by Thursday morning," Mahajan said. Rescuers managed to provide biscuits and water to two or three trapped people, he said. The area received more than 600 mm of rainfall over the past 30 to 35 hours, resulting in a large accumulation of water at the garbage depot, said the minister. "The accumulated water caused a massive flow of garbage to surge towards the building, leading to this unfortunate incident," he said. Meanwhile, a Defence release stated that a Joint Task Force of the Southern Command of the Army, comprising engineering and medical personnel, has been deployed to assist in the rescue and relief operations. The Army team is working in close coordination with the NDRF and other agencies, it said. PTI SPK NR NSK KRK