Three people were killed and around half a dozen sustained injuries when a three-storey building of Agarwal Lodge collapsed in Madhya Pradesh’s Kotma town in Anuppur district on Saturday evening.
Two men died on Saturday, while the body of the third deceased, a woman, was extricated from the debris during search and rescue operations on Sunday.
According to police and district administration officials, the deceased men were identified as Hanumandeen Yadav (55), and his brother-in-law Ramkripal Yadav (50).
Five other people were injured in the accident, two of whom are in critical condition and have been sent to Shahdol for better treatment.
More than 100 rescuers from the NDRF, SDERF and police were involved in the search operation.
Anuppur SP Moti Ur Rahman said that the ongoing construction work near the approximately 10-year-old building is suspected to have contributed to the incident.
A shopping complex is being constructed adjacent to the Agarwal Lodge, and a 12-foot-deep pit has been dug for the purpose. The lodge building collapsed into the pit, which had accumulated water