Dharwad building collapse: 70 hours on, couple, two others pulled out alive from debris

DHARWAD: After 70 hours under the debris of a collapsed under-construction building in Dharwad, four people, including a couple, were pulled out alive on Friday. The toll in the tragedy rose to 14 after the National Disaster Response Force found two bodies. Sixty-one people have been rescued so far.
The first to be rescued on Friday was Sangamesh Ramanagouda, 24, of Chikkaulligeri village in Savadatti taluk.The NDRF teams found Sangamesh shouting for help from under the debris. He was working in the office of a former JD(S) corporator in the collapsed building. Special teams rescued Sangamesh around 8am. Officials were shocked to see Sangamesh walk out of the rescue tunnel and jump into an ambulance. With minor injuries on his face, Sangamesh said he had lost hopes of survival. "I had not seen light for three days. I am happy to see my family again," he said.
The toll in the tragedy rose to 14 after the National Disaster Response Force found two bodies (ANI Photo)
The next rescue operation was based on the information Sangamesh gave to police. The NDRF and fire services personnel started working on his clue and established contact with Dileep Kokre and his wife Sangeetha.
The rescue operations turned emotional around 1pm when Dileep insisted his wife be brought out first. Dileep wasn't injured. Sangeetha was stuck after a pillar had fallen on her right leg.
The couple was working on the ground floor of building when it came down crashing at Kumareshwar Nagar on Tuesday afternoon. The teams had to drill into debris and break rods to pull them out alive. The couple was rushed to the District Civil Hospital for treatment. Doctors said both were stable, but exhausted. Sangeeta has suffered a fracture in her right leg and needs more time to recover. "My first wife died eight years ago. Sangeetha is my second wife and I could not leave her though it was easy for me to get out first. We were remembering our children and were just praying somebody finds us, said Dileep.
At 4pm, NDRF teams found one more woman shouting for help. Honnamma, 45, was pulled out by 5.30pm and was rushed to hospital. She suffered a fracture in her right ankle. From Ballari, Honnamma had come to Dharwad to work as a labourer.
The two dead were identified as Subbanna Neeralakatti, 68, from Dharwad, and Anup Kudtarkar, son of Prakash Kudatarkar, owner of a cyber cafe in the ground floor of the building.