Kota/Jaipur: A three-storey building housing a restaurant collapsed in the Talwandi area of Kota late Saturday, killing two people, including a coaching centre student, and injuring over 10 others. Rescue teams were still battling to pull survivors from the debris at the time of going to print.The structure gave way around 9pm in a neighbourhood crowded with students drawn to Kota’s coaching centres. Screams were heard as slabs of concrete pinned people beneath the wreckage. Police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams rushed to the site and launched frantic rescue operations.Rescuers said they saw a hand protruding from the rubble at one spot and a foot trapped under twisted metal at another. Kota district collector Peeyush Samariya said preliminary findings indicate that construction activity at an adjacent building weakened the collapsed structure’s foundations. Heavy drilling and hammering went underway nearby for days, residents said, sending vibrations through the area.One of the deceased has been identified as Arnav, a coaching student and a native of West Bengal. His mother was critically injured in the incident and was admitted to a city hospital. The second victim was not identified at the time of publication.Education minister Madan Dilawar visited the site and said rescue and relief operations were continuing.Talwandi lies close to several coaching centres and sees heavy student movement throughout the day and late into the night.
