Many feared trapped as building caves in

KAKINADA: At least 16 persons, including women and children, were trapped after a four-storeyed apartment sank into the ground by 10 feet at Shantinagar here on Friday. Ten persons, including four women and six children, were rescued  while efforts are on till late on Friday night to save the rest. Some of the rescued were hurt and have been sent to a nearby hospital. The builder of the apartment complex, Murthy, has been nabbed by the police.Syamala Sadan, a residential complex at Shantinagar, was constructed by Pavan Constructions in 2008. About 15 families are residing in the building. At around 5 pm, the building started shaking with a loud sound and people in the locality rushed out of their houses suspecting it to be an earthquake. Within minutes, the residential complex sank by 10 feet and the first floor came down to ground level while the parking lot and the watchman’s house in the ground floor sank. The locals made vain attempts to rescue those who got trapped inside the apartment. A few youths dared to enter the building along with the fire department personnel who arrived there and rescued six children who reportedly went into the building for attending a music and dance class. Four other children are feared to have been trapped under the debris.Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and revenue minister N Raghuveera Reddy directed the district authorities to rush the National Disaster Response Force teams from Vijayawada for rescue operations besides seeking the help of Navy.District collector M Ravinchandra, superintendent of police Trivikram Varma, municipal commissioner V Ravi Kumar and other officials jumped into action and started rescue mission braving heavy rain.The fire personnel have demolished a part of the building from one side and have been pumping oxygen for the victims trapped under the debris besides dropping biscuits and water bottles. Rescue efforts have been hampered by heavy downpour in the town.The collector said that they have started evacuating the residents from the apartment and also the neighbouring houses as the cracks in the building walls started widening indicating that it is on the verge of collapse. The officials have cut down power supply and deployed three heavy cranes from the ONGC and the deep water port to remove the debris.