Ten dead as building struck by car collapses in India
Ten people have died after a car crashed into a dilapidated building in central India and brought down the near century-old structure, burying them beneath rubble, police said Sunday.
The freak accident in Indore on Saturday evening is the latest building disaster in a country infamous for poor construction and safety standards.
The driver lost control of his vehicle and struck a pillar holding up the near 100-year-old structure, said police deputy inspector general Harinarayanchari Mishra.
A woman's hand seen under in the rubble at the site of a four-storey hotel building that collapsed late night in Indore, India, 01 April 2018. At least 10 people were killed, and at least a dozen injured in the collapse. According to local police sources, the cause of the collapse is being investigated.// EPA-EFE PHOTO
"The impact was such that the entire building collapsed," he told AFP.
"Rescue workers pulled out 12 people from the rubble, 10 of them were already dead. The other two are being treated in hospital."
Images from the scene showed battered and bloodied corpses being pulled from twisted piles of brick and concrete. The rubble was being cleared with cranes and industrial equipment.
This photograph taken on March 31, 2018 shows Indian onlookers gathering near the rubble of a building after the structure collapsed in Indore, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. // AFP PHOTO
Building disasters are common in Indian cities where millions are forced to live in cramped, run-down properties due to spiralling real estate prices and a lack of proper housing.
Activists say owners often cut corners on construction to save costs with little regard to safety.
Some 30 people perished in September last year when a 117-year-old apartment building collapsed in India's financial hub of Mumbai.
And in 2013, 60 people were killed when a residential block came crashing down in one of the country's worst housing disasters.
Workers clear the rubble after the collapse of a four-storey hotel building late night in Indore, India, 01 April 2018 morning. At least 10 people were killed and many others injured in the collapse of which the reason is now being investigated, police said. // EPA-EFE PHOTO