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House collapse kills 12, injures several in Bangladesh

Thursday, 16 April 2015 12:49 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 16 April 2015 12:51 AM ]

Locals have gathered around the collapsed house trying to rescue the entrapped residents, Rampura, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 15 April 2015.

A two-storey makeshift house has collapsed into a body of water in Bangladesh, leaving 12 dead and several others injured.

The tragic incident happened in Rampura, in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, on Wednesday afternoon, around 2:45 p.m. local time (0845 GMT), when many of the residents were inside having their lunch.

The poorly-built building was made of corrugated iron sheets and housed about 100 low-income people in its 24 rooms (12 on each floor).

According to locals, several people might still be trapped underwater inside the collapsed house and therefore the number of fatalities might increase.

Abdul Malek, a survivor, said he managed to escape death by breaking the tin roof and climbing out of the shattered building.

“We have failed to move the building as it was built using steel and tin [corrugated iron sheets]; for this, we are doing our work by cutting [the structure] down slowly,” said Maj AKM Shakil Newaz, the acting director general of Fire Service and Civil Defense.

According to Shakil Newaz, six fire service units had joined the rescue operation.

The fire service chief further noted that it was not possible to estimate when the rescue efforts would finish, adding that if anybody was still trapped on the ground floor, they are unlikely to be alive.

RS/AS/MHB

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