Two buildings under construction collapsed in Southern India on Saturday killing at least 26 people. The police detained five construction people the following Sunday. The incident happened during a monsoon rain.

According to a police report, an estimated 90 workers were in the basement to collect their wages when the incident occurred. Using gas cutters, iron rods, shovels and crane to lift the debris, the police successfully pulled out 31 workers that were trapped, at least four workers died on the spot while seven other were hospitalized.

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However, the police said they still don’t have the exact number of workers trapped, but rescuers could still hear some voices from the underground.

S.P. Selvam, the head official of the rescue team, said it may take a few more days to clear the rubble.

"Removing debris is a major challenge. It may take two to three days to clear the rubble," Selvam said.

On Sunday, the rescue operation experienced moderate to heavy rain, but police officer Pushpraj said they will still continue to get the trapped workers.

As for the people responsible for the incident, George Fernandez, police officer, said they have two directors, two engineers, and the construction company supervisor of Prime Sristi in custody for thorough investigation.

The building collapsed may be due to the impact of lightning according to Balaguru, one of the builders.

"Usually, once the construction gets over we install the equipment to prevent the building from a thunder strike. It was nearing completion," he told the Press Trust of India in an interview.

There have been frequent building collapses in India the cause of which is attriubuted to insufficient safety and substandard construction materials.

Tagsindia building incident, infrastructure accident