Fifteen people died and three were injured when the wall of a housing society collapsed last night in Pune. According to district authorities, the wall of Alcon Stylus Housing Society in Kodhwa area collapsed on an adjoining labour camp of an under-construction site next to the building at 2 am on June 29. The labourers were sleeping inside the tin shed when the wall collapsed due to heavy rains.

Teams from the NDRF and Fire Brigade rushed to the spot to rescue the injured and retrieve the dead.

Four children were among the dead. All the deceased and injured are from Bihar. The deceased have been identified as Aman Sharma (19), Ravi Sharma (19), Mohan Sharma (24), Alok Sharma (28), Lakshmikant Sahni (33), Sunil Singh (35), Bhima Das (38),  Niva Devi (30), Sangita Devi (26), Ovi Das (2), Sonali Das (6), Ajit Kumar Sharma (7), Rekhalkumar Sharma (5), Dipranjan Sharma and Avdhesh Singh, all residents of Katihar district in Bihar. The three injured persons are under treatment at Sasoon Hospital.

Pune Collector Naval Kishore Ram told Newslaundry, “We are doing every bit possible to assist the families of victims. We have coordinated with the Airport Authority of India and will send the bodies of the deceased persons to their respective villages. The injured persons as well as the families of deceased  will also be provided with compensation.”

Ram said a detailed inquiry will also be carried out to see what led to the incident. “The construction company seems to be negligent about the safety of the labourers in this incident. These workers were living in a tin shed. They were not even given a safe accommodation by the construction company. We will do a detailed inquiry and whoever is responsible for this will not be spared.”

K Venkatesham, Commissioner of Police, Pune, while addressing the media said, “We are going to find out whether proper safety measures were taken or not by the construction company. We are investigating the reasons for this incident and whoever is responsible for this, we will take firm action against them.”