Two-month-old baby among 15 people killed in building collapse horror

Indian government considering calling in the army to help

File Image: Seasonal rainfall batter Indian states as scientists sound alarm about climate change impact on extreme weather (The Associated Press)

At least 15 people, including a two-month-old baby, were killed in the south Indian state of Telangana, after houses collapsed due to heavy rain.  

In the first incident occurred around 1 am on Wednesday night in the state’s capital, Hyderabad when a house’s boundary wall fell on a neighbouring house leaving a toddler along with eight others dead and four injured.  

“Two houses were badly damaged and nine persons died on the spot,” a police official told the Hindustan Times. The local police officials told The Independent that the bodies of the deceased and those injured were pulled out last night.  The soil was loosened by more than 25 centimetres (9.8 inches) of rain in the past 24 hours,  Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar told AP.  

Five other people were killed in two other house collapses in the city, Kumar said. About thirty cars and trucks were washed away after a lake in the city started overflowing, district administrator said.

Telangana and its neighbouring state, Andhra Pradesh, have been witnessing torrential rain for the last three days. According to India Today at least 21 people died in rain-related incidents in the two states.  

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted more rains and thunderstorms along with the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh.  

The government is also considering calling army to the aid the civil administration. Disaster Response Force (DRF) with the help of fire services personnel and police were attending to distress calls from people stranded in flooded parts of the state, reported The Tribune.  

The Telangana government has declared two days holiday across the state. The district administration of both states has also appealed the citizens to stay indoors.