Accident after compound wall collapses in Bengaluru; High level probe soon, four bodies handed over to kin

BENGALURU: The high-level probe announced by the Karnataka Government in the accident leading to the wall collapse of the hospital in heavy rains will begin today. The bodies of four out of the seven dead have been handed over to their relatives after postmortem. The postmortem was completed Thursday morning. The compound wall near Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru collapsed at around 6 pm yesterday.

Malayalees are among the dead. They have been identified as Smita (50), wife of Reghu of Ramamangalam and Latha (49), of Ramamangalam, who were part of a group that had gone on a pleasure trip from Kudumbashree Amritam Powder Manufacturing Company in Ramamangalam. Maya Manikandan, Preethi, and Sigi of Ramamangalam sustained injuries. Their condition is not serious. There were 56 people in the group. The group, which arrived in Bengaluru by air in the morning, went shopping in the evening in heavy rains. Meanwhile, the wall collapsed when they were standing in the area which was tied by a tarpaulin attached to the hospital wall. The other victims of the accident were street vendors and pedestrians.

The Commerce Street Police has registered a case in the accident. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah informed that strong action will be taken against the culprits. The chief minister announced emergency financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead. Free treatment was also assured to the injured.