Hotel building collapses in Kota, 3 injured

Three people were injured and one person was feared to be trapped in the debris when a double-storey building of a hotel-cum-bar collapsed in Dhanmandi area of Kota city on Saturday morning.

Police said the employees of Sarovar Plaza hotel had just woken up in the morning and started the routine cleaning of the hotel when the building collapsed with a loud sound at around 11am.

Locals informed the police and administration about the mishap, following which rescue teams of civil defence, Kota Municipal Corporation and State Disaster Response force (SDRF) reached the spot.

Kota district collector Rohit Gupta, inspector general of police (Kota range) Vishal Bansal and other police and administrative officials also reached the spot to monitor the rescue operations.

Gupta said Gopal Rai (60), the hotel manager, Jitendra Kumar (28) and Buddhi Prakash (27), both employees of the hotel, were injured in the incident. They were rescued from the debris and sent to the Government Maharao Bhim Singh Hospital for treatment, he added.

One more person, Ramhet Kumar (28), who was trapped on the second floor of the adjacent part that did not collapse, was rescued by the Kota Municipal Corporation team, led by fire officer Rakesh Vyas.

Gupta said the hotel was being run from the upper floor and the bar was located on the ground floor.

Later, Kota MP Om Birla, Sangod MLA Heeralal Nagar and other public representatives also reached the spot and enquired about the rescue operations.

Gangadhar (30), one of the hotel employees and an eyewitness in the incident, said that he, along with four other employees, was in the hotel when they realised that adjacent part of the building was collapsing and ran out of the hotel. “It took just around 15 to 20 seconds for the hotel part to collapse,” he said.

A car and four bikes were also damaged in the mishap, he said.

The administration used gas cutters and JCB machines to remove debris and rescue trapped persons.

Ramhet said that the hotel and bar was closed for the last three days, as there was a wedding in the family of the owner. There was no guest in the hotel, which had 16 rooms, he added.

Gangadhar said that there could be one more person, Saddam, trapped inside the debris.

Rahul Jain, a neighbor, said that the hotel, owned by one Anwar, is around four decades old. He had undertaked renovation work at the hotel a few years ago. Fragile construction of the building is being cited as the reason behind the building collapse.

Kota Mayor Mahesh Vijavyargiya said that effective action would be taken in the matter. Kota Municipal Corporation will carry out a survey of the fragile structures in the city, he added.