M A I N   N E W S

Factory collapse toll 13
Dharmendra Joshi/TNS

Jalandhar, April 18
The death toll in the Jalandhar building collapse has risen to 13 while the count of those rescued from the rubble has touched 61. The number of casualties, however, may escalate as the debris from ground and first floors of the four-storeyed building of Shital Fibres was yet to be cleared.

Nine bodies have been extricated so far whereas four were spotted under the collapsed building by the NDRF men.

Rescuers with Nitesh, who was pulled out after 72 hours from the collapsed factory site in Jalandhar at 12.40 am on Thursday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh

While six bodies had been extricated till Tuesday, three were pulled out from the rubble today. The NDRF commandant, Rajendra Kumar Verma, said it may take at least two more days to clear the debris. Meanwhile, two members of a rescue team fainted today due to the stench, apparently of the rotten bodies and limbs, emanating from the debris. Medical teams sprayed tamiphos at the incident site to check the spread of any disease. Rescue teams' staff, officials, policemen and even mediapersons were provided masks.

Miracle story

JALANDHAR: Nitesh, a labourer, miraculously survived a 72-hour ordeal. He had no major injuries despite being buried under heaps of concrete and iron. He was immediately taken to the Civil Hospital here. The teams were still busy taking out two other survivors, identified as Vinay and Satinder. (Inputs: Deepkamal Kaur)