One person died while several others are feared trapped under debris after a six-storey residential building collapsed in Pal area of Surat city in Gujarat on Saturday afternoon.
While one woman was pulled out alive from the debris, the search and rescue operation was still on, said Surat district collector Sourabh Pardhi.
"We learnt that four to five flats in the building were occupied. One woman has been rescued. Four to five people are still feared trapped underneath. Search and rescue operations are ongoing with the help of NDRF and SDRF. We are hopeful that the operation will end in a couple of hours," he told reporters.
Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot, who arrived at the scene to oversee the rescue operation, confirmed that the voices of trapped persons were heard at the beginning of the rescue efforts.
He said the building was constructed in 2016-17. Prima facie, around five flats in the building, were occupied, mostly by those who work in factories in this area, he added.
"When rescue work started, we heard voices of those who were trapped inside. We rescued a woman alive from the rubble and sent her to the hospital. We suspect that nearly five people are still trapped inside," stated Gehlot.
