Toll mounts to 24; manual ops continue at Canacona
TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: The delay of the ‘Volvo Pockline Crushing Machine’ in reaching Canacona compelled workers to continue with manual recovery operations for the second day and five more bodies were recovered from the debris of the collapsed building at Chaudi-Canacona. Officials have told Herald that the fatalities have now touched 24, with some more bodies yet to be recovered from the site.
The ‘Volvo Pockline Crushing Machine’, which left Pune on Tuesday afternoon, had crossed Kankavali region late Wednesday evening, after the vehicle was earlier reported to have crossed Kolhapur on Wednesday afternoon.
Incidentally, the manual recovery operations were halted twice in 24 hours after it commenced on Tuesday afternoon, fearing the collapse of the two adjacent buildings.
The ‘Total–Station’ instrument, set up at two different locations to observe movements of the two buildings, recorded an unusual deviation from one building at about 8.30 pm on Tuesday and a warning was sounded to the workers to vacate the site.
After the recovery operations were resumed on Wednesday morning, a body of the local victim, Santosh Bhagat was retrieved when some building movement was again captured by one of the two ‘Total-Station’ at about 12.45 pm, compelling workers to halt operations during lunch.
“Movement from the adjacent building was more than the danger mark, but taking into consideration the people’s sentiments, manual rescue operations were continued by taking all precautions on Wednesday,” Canacona Mamlatdar Ravishekhar Nippanikar told reporters.
A total of five bodies were pulled out from the debris and two bodies were identified as that of Santosh Bhagat and Dilip Velip of Vaizawaddo-Shristhal. The body of another local, Purso Velip of Barcem, is believed to be still lying under the rubble.
Sources informed Herald that two more bodies were sighted between two floors of the collapsed slabs, but workers from NDRF, Fire Services and PWD workers found it difficult to retrieve the bodies till late Wednesday evening.
It is expected that the remaining bodies trapped in the collapsed building will be extricated once the demolition machinery pulls down the two adjoining buildings which are posing a danger to recovery operations.
Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldessai, who visited the site to take stock of recovery operations, expressed concern over the delay in the arrival of the requisitioned demolition machinery.
“The central government should make provision for heavy and sophisticated machinery to meet such eventualities after clubbing two regions together. “Such equipment is needed within the shortest possible time,” Phaldessai told reporters.
Jharkhand Disaster Management Principal Secretary and other officers, who have arrived in the State following the building collapse, revisited the site on Wednesday and enquired about the bodies recovered by workers.
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary Parimal Rai also visited the building collapse site on Wednesday to proceed with the inquiry into the disaster, sources told Herald.
In a related development, the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department suspended the registration certificate of Vishwas Dessai as engineer. A notice has been issued to him to show cause why his licence should not be permanently revoked.
