Toll reaches 14; 56 rescued from Dharwad crashed building

DHARWAD: While the NDRF continued its rescue operation, toll in the crashed building reached 14 on Friday. So far, 56 people have been rescued from the site. The rescue team has lost hope of any survivors and started clearing the debris using heavy machinery. The entire operation could conclude in a couple of days and the only thing that remains is to shift the debris and clear the area.
One person identified as Somu Ramanagouda was rescued alive this morning.Somu from Chikkaulligeri village works in JDS office which was located in the ill-fated building.
Stuck in the debris for 30 hours, Prema Unakal and Dawal Sab were shifted to the Civil Hospital. Their rescue raised hopes of more survivors. The rescue team roped in more manpower to speed up the operation. Prema Unkal was rescued around 1.30am on Thursday. However, the body of her daughter Divya was retrieved around noon.
The 11 deceased have been identified as Kamalakshi Mudholmath, 52, Ismailsab Takked, 22, Dakshayani Mattur, 35, Sangamesh Manvi, 35, Garijappa Lakkundi, 48, Divya Unakal, 8, Salim Makandar, 35, Ashit Hiremath, 28, Mehboobsab Desai, 48, Mehboobsab Raichur, 50, Aslam Sheikh, 50. The identity of one deceased is yet to be ascertained.
Thousands of people, including relatives of trapped people, anxiously waited with faint hope. Their cries rented the air as bodies were being retrieved from the site and shifted to Civil Hospital for postmortem.
As the digging work commenced, dust filled the air causing breathlessness to the rescuers. Water cannons were used for the dust to settle. Volunteers from NGOs supplying water bottles, glucose, juice, fruits and ice-cream candies to the rescue team members.