12 dead in Secunderabad hotel collapse

Atleast 12 persons were killed today and 18 others injured when a old building housing a Irani hotel, collapsed in Secunderabad here, police said.
The roof of the two-storeyed Hotel City Light and Bakery, located on RP road in Secunderabad, crashed at around 6 AM resulting in the building collapse leaving a dozen dead. Besides, some others are still feared trapped, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma told reporters here.
The deceased include hotel staff and also customers who went to have tea and snacks in there, officials said.
The injured were rushed to Gandhi hospital.
Policemen, officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), fire department and CISF personnel were involved in relief and rescue operations to clear the debris and pull out those trapped.

"The rescue operations are continuing. As a precautionary measure we are taking help of experts in removing those trapped under the debris," Sharma, who was monitoring the relief measures said.

On reports that placing of a furnace (bhatti for preparation of 'Haleem'--a delicacy made during Ramzan season) on the building terrace may be one of the causes behind the incident, the Hyderabad police chief said investigation will reveal the exact reasons.
CISF is doing a commendable job in rescuing those trapped, he said.
The Mahankali police has booked a case of negligence against the hotel management.
Eye-witnesses say they saw the building come down suddenly with a loud sound coupled with cries of people.

GHMC commissioner M T Krishna Babu, who was also at the site of the accident, said there were several old buildings in the area and notices have been served in this regard to their owners. The collapsed building, however did not fall under that list, he said.
Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, along with ministers Danam Nagender, Geeta Reddy and Mukesh Goud, visited the collapse site and also Gandhi Hospital where the injured were admitted.