How firemen led Ludhiana factory collapse rescue operations

Firefighters emerged as true saviors, rescuing trapped workers after the collapse of Kohli Dyeing in Phase-8, Focal Point on Saturday. They were the first responders, swiftly launching a rescue operation before other emergency teams arrived.

Sub-Fire Officer Aatish Rai, while sharing the experience with The Tribune, said the Fire Department received the distress call at 5:40 pm, following a team was mobilised from the Focal Point fire station and officials were alerted.

“As we initially started combing the debris to save the trapped workers, we felt little dejected when we could found one. However, our joy knew no bounds when we managed to rescue six workers near the front gate. Fortunately, they escaped with minor injuries,” Rai said.

However, one worker required more careful extraction. His team located him beneath the boiler pipes at the back of the building. Despite his injuries, the worker was conscious and responsive, allowing the firefighters to carefully extricate him, Rai added.

Later, when the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached, the rescue operation got momentum and more trapped workers were extracted. None of us slept the entire night on Saturday, said Aatish. We continued assisting the NDRF on Sunday as well, doing everything in our power to help, he added.