Bengaluru rain havoc: How sudden storm turned shelter into killing zone; 7 crushed to death

BENGALURU: Seven people, including a girl who had gone shopping for her seventh birthday on May 3, were killed and nine injured after a wall of Bowring Hospital in Shivajinagar collapsed on them during thunderstorms here on Wednesday evening.

This is the first major rain-related tragedy in the tech capital in the past two decades.

The victims included two women from Kerala who were visiting Bengaluru. They had taken shelter along the hospital compound wall to escape the sudden downpour when the structure gave way.

The deceased have been identified as Fayaz Ahmed, 39, footwear vendor; Mohammed Abdul Haq, 52, cloth seller; Musfira, 6; K K Latha, 57, and Smita, 47, from Kerala; Mohammed Salauddin, 36, vendor from UP; and Naseemullah, 19, from Assam, who was making car stickers.

According to police and Greater Bengaluru Authority officials, many of the deceased and the injured were street vendors, who used to sell wares alongside the hospital compound wall.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, who rushed to the site of the incident, promised thorough investigations and action against officials if negligence is established. The CM announced compensation of 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the victims.

"The injured are out of danger. I have instructed doctors to provide medical treatment free of cost," CM said. The investigation will determine why the compound wall collapsed and whether it was in a dilapidated condition. "If the wall was in a dilapidated condition, why did the engineers ignore its state? Construction is going on inside the hospital campus. Sand was dumped near the wall. Prima facie, the wall might have collapsed because of the pressure," he added.

Deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar attributed the incident to nature's fury and ruled out lapses on the part of GBA officials.

The compound wall of erstwhile Binny Mill near Cottonpet too collapsed. However, there were no casualties.

2 electrocuted; man dead in roof collapseTwo men lost lives in separate incidents of electrocution. Syed Sufian, a 17-year-old resident of KG Halli, suffered a fatal shock in Shivajinagar after stepping on a live wire submerged in a puddle on the road.

He was retrieving his bike from a parking lot when he stepped into a puddle with a live wire. Raghu, a 30-year-old cobbler on Bannerghatta Road, was electrocuted around 6.45pm near Jedi Mara Junction.

Late night, Manjunath, 35, died after the roof and wall of his house collapsed on him on Ashwathkatte Road in Chamarajpet.



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