Six dead, over 35 feared trapped after buildings collapse in Vadodara

Six people were killed and over 35 are feared trapped after two buildings collapsed in the Atladara area on the outskirts of Vadodara in Gujarat on Wednesday morning.

The three-storey buildings came crashing down at around 4:30 a.m., when the occupants were sleeping. Some 13-14 families were staying there, a television channel quoted H.J. Tapariya, Vadodara's Chief Fire Officer, as saying.

The buildings were part of a huge housing complex constructed by the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA) some 35 years ago.

There are 54 other similar buildings in the housing complex.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said thathe has sent Nitinbhai Patel, the state's Finance, Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare and Transport Minister to make an assessment of the situation and to monitor rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

Vadodara civic commissioner Manish Dubey said most people have been evacuated from one of the two buildings.