Bhadrachalam Building collapse: Worker extricated after 10-hour rescue operation dies

A view of the under construction building that collapsed in the temple town of Bhadrachalam of Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Wednesday (March 26, 2025).
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

A construction worker, who got stuck beneath the debris of an under construction six-storey building that collapsed in Bhadrachalam town on Wednesday (March 26, 2024), died soon after being extricated following a nearly 10-hour-long rescue operation.

The deceased was identified as 48-year-old Challa Kamesh, a resident of Jagadeesh Colony in Bhadrachalam. A grievously injured Kamesh was pulled out of the debris after a strenuous rescue operation and rushed to the Government Area Hospital in the temple town at around 1.45 a.m. He succumbed to the injuries while undergoing treatment at the hospital a little later.

Rescue operation by the personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the rescue team of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is still underway to extricate another construction worker, Upender, believed to be trapped under the rubble at the building collapse site.

Collector Jitesh V. Patil and Superintendent of Police B. Rohith Raju monitored the rescue operation up to the wee hours of Thursday (March 27, 2025).

Agitated relatives of Upender staged a sit-in on the main road in the temple town on Thursday morning demanding expeditious rescue of the trapped worker. They sought stringent action against the owner of the collapsed building terming the incident as a man-made tragedy.

Several residents of the area alleged that one Sripathi embarked on construction of the multi-storey building on an old basement in flagrant violation of the building regulations in Bhadrachalam major gram panchayat.

They accused him of collecting funds in the name of ‘Sripathi Seva Trust’ for constructing the multi-storey building abutting a small temple dedicated to goddess Bhavani.

Official sources said that the collapsed under construction building was an illegal structure and two notices were earlier served on its owner to stop its construction, but in vain.

Meanwhile, the Collector said that strict action will be taken against the owner of the unauthorised multi-storied structure that came crashing, killing a construction worker and leaving another trapped in the debris. An intense rescue operation is underway to extricate another worker trapped beneath the rubble.