Chandigarh, Dec 08: More than 24 hours after one of the worst tragedies in the city, two more bodies were found at the dumping ground in Sector 31, taking the number of dead to nine.
The bodies were found floating in the sewerage tank, which had caved in on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Santosh (20) and Shukan (13).
Santosh’s body was fished out around 12.30 pm on Monday, an hour after it was spotted in the tank measuring 15 by 10 feet. The body was entangled in the remains of cables underneath the concrete slabs.
Shukan’s body was untraceable for a long time, as floating thermocol and concrete slabs pieces had reduced visibility in the muddy tank water.
Rescue personnel from fire and emergency services used a suction pump to drain out the tank, while the defence personnel removed heaps of debris which had blocked the flow of water. The body was pulled out from the tank around 3 pm.
The incident had taken place when over 15 people had gathered at the site to rummage for bricks in the rubble. The platform above the tank on which 11 people were standing gave way with the weight of a tipper that had come to unload debris.
Activate disaster management teams: Rodrigues
Expressing grief over the dumping ground mishap, UT Administrator General S F Rodrigues (retd) on Monday instructed the Administration’s top brass to activate the city’s disaster management teams.
During a public hearing session at the Secretariat, he further directed the officials to arrange proper equipment and make provisions to train personnel to handle such accidents.
He also asked the Deputy Commissioner to extend all necessary assistance to the victims’ families.
–Agencies