Pune building collapse: Seven employees dead, one missing after 72-hour rescue
Pune, India – Seven bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a collapsed waste-to-energy plant building at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's Moshi garbage depot, officials confirmed on Saturday. The recovery came nearly 72 hours after the structure gave way following a garbage mound collapse on Wednesday.
According to PCMC City Engineer Sanjay Kulkarni, all seven deceased were employees who were buried on the ground floor of the two-storey building. The search for one missing employee is still underway, he added.
The bodies have been sent to the PCMC-run Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital under heavy police security. Officials stated that panchnama and postmortem procedures will be conducted before the bodies are handed over to the families. Security at the hospital has been increased in response to tensions among the relatives who had gathered there and at the depot site.
The incident has raised questions about safety standards at the waste-to-energy facility, which was intended to process municipal solid waste. Local authorities have not yet announced a formal investigation into the collapse, but the municipal corporation is expected to review safety protocols.
Relatives of the missing and deceased have expressed grief and anger over the delay in rescue operations. The tense atmosphere at the site reflects the emotional distress of families awaiting closure.
