A woman died after she got trapped under debris following the collapse of a building at the government medical college hospital in Kottayam. Three people also suffered injuries in the incident.
Fire and rescue personnel recovered the woman's body from under the rubble on Thursday morning. While authorities claimed there was none trapped under the rubble, search operations were intensified after a woman was reported missing. The identity of the woman is yet to be ascertained.
According to officials, the building, adjacent to Ward 14 at the hospital, collapsed around 10.55am. The three-storey building housing restrooms collapsed, injuring a woman and two children. Earlier, senior authorities at the hospital claimed the restrooms in the building were not being used as issues were found. However, a few bystanders of patients at the hospital said they had used the restrooms even minutes before the building collapsed.
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Earlier, Health Minister Veena George and Minister V.N. Vasavan visited the site. George told presspersons that the block was closed considering the deteriorated condition of the structure, and a new building has been constructed. She added that the facilities will be shifted to the new building soon.
Congress MLA Chandy Ommen alleged grievous negligence in the rescue operation. According to reports, the rescue operations were started only two hours after the structure collapsed. Ommen charged that the hospital is forcefully discharging patients to cover up the incident.