1 dead, several feared trapped after building collapses in Punjab's Mohali; Army, NDRF carry out rescue op

A 20-year-old woman died and another was rescued, while several people are feared trapped in a basement after a four-storey building collapsed in Sohana village of the district on Saturday evening.

Local residents said the building collapsed suddenly with a very loud sound as digging work was being carried out adjacent to the basement of the building for past some days. There were gym-goers in the building and construction workers adjacent to the building, they said.

The district authorities launched a rescue operation and rushed earth-moving machines, fire tenders to the spot.

Teams of the Army, the National Disaster Response Team (NDRF) and the police are carrying out the rescue operation. The fire brigade is also participating in the operation, administration officials said.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, Anandpur Sahib MP Malwinder Singh Kang and Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh reached the spot to take stock of the situation.

The DGP said a multi-agency rescue effort was under way.

The Army, NDRF, district administration and police are involved in the operation, he said.

The administration has set up a Control Room at the Civil Hospital, Mohali, officials said. Major hospitals in the city, including  Fortis, Max and Sohana hospitals, have been put on alert, they added.

The officials said preliminary inquiry suggested that 8-12 persons were inside the building when it collapsed.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “Sad news has been received that a multistorey building near Sohana in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) has collapsed. The entire administration and other rescue teams have been deployed at the spot. I am in constant touch with the administration.”

“We pray that there is no loss of life, we will also take action against the culprits. Appeal to the people to cooperate with the administration,” he added in his post on X.