Two killed in a Himachal building collapse

Shimla, Aug 4: Two persons were killed and six injured when a government building collapsed in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district on Friday owing to heavy rains in the region.

The two-storeyed building at Theog town, some 30 km from the state capital, housing the office of the state roadways was in a dilapidated condition, an official involved in the rescue operation told IANS.

He said the local administration had declared the building unsafe three years ago.



Two injured persons were admitted to the state-run Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla.

Additional District Magistrate Sunil Sharma told reporters that the cause of the building collapse is yet to be ascertained, but the heavy rains of then past few days could be the reason.

State Transport Minister G.S. Bali, who reached the spot and faced people's protests over the government's lapses that led to the disaster, announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of each of the killed.