Bengaluru: At least seven people, including three children, were killed on Wednesday after a compound wall at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital at Shivajinagar collapsed in Bengaluru, PTI reported, quoting police.
The tragedy occurred when heavy rains and strong winds battered the area and several people had taken shelter near the wall, which suddenly gave way and came crashing down, trapping them beneath the rubble.
According to officials, the incident was reported at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the Shivajinagar neighbourhood, a busy commercial and medical hub of the city. They said that when the intense rainfall and gusting winds intensified, the victims were gathered near or directly under the hospital’s compound wall, using a large tarpaulin sheet for cover.
“As the rain and winds picked up suddenly, people gathered under the tarpaulin. Within moments, the wall collapsed,” a witness told r
eporters.
Police and emergency services personnel rushed to the spot with an earthmover and other rescue equipment to clear the debris and retrieve the bodies with the help of residents and shopkeepers. Onlookers described the collapse as abrupt, saying those present at the site did not get time to run away as the wall toppled on them, leaving them buried under the masonry.
The exact number of casualties is yet to be officially confirmed, but authorities fear multiple fatalities given the number of people gathered at the location during the collapse.
Following the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the accident site and inspected the debris and the collapsed wall. Reacting to the incident, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, “I have spoken to the commissioner of police, that’s why I have cut off the meeting, and I am going to the spot immediately. I will see how we can help and what has to be done…”
Reports indicate that the deceased were largely street vendors who had been doing business for years on the footpath adjoining the hospital’s compound wall in the crowded Shivajinagar area. The identification and other personal details of the victims are still being ascertained by the police, as families and local residents flocked to the hospital premises seeking information.