Koraput: A 62-year-old shop owner was killed after two shops collapsed at a market complex near the bus stand in Koraput Saturday, police said.
The victim was identified as Loknath Patra, a resident of the town and owner of Harihar Bakery.
Three others managed to escape unhurt. The incident took place at a two-storey shop, part of the Biswasray Marketing Complex, located in front of the district police headquarters along National Highway-26 in Koraput town, the police said.
The incident triggered a four-hour rescue operation, during which traffic on National Highway 26 was suspended. The mishap occurred when Patra was cleaning his shop with a group of workers ahead of the Dussehra festival.
The shop, which had reportedly weakened due to continuous rains in the town, was under repair at the time of the incident.
The workers were carrying out drilling works when the roof of two adjacent shops caved in. While his brother Sridhar Patra and two labourers rushed out of the shop after hearing the cracking sound, Patra was trapped under the debris.
Sridhar fainted upon witnessing the collapse. Koraput SP Rohit Verma reached the site and launched rescue operations.
Teams from the OSAP 3rd Battalion, ODRAF, emergency teams from Koraput, Laxmipur, Semiliguda, and Jeypore fire services, and Koraput Town police carried out the rescue operation on a war footing.
To expedite the rescue, authorities deployed six earth movers to clear the debris and sniffer dogs to locate possible survivors.
Patra was pulled out in critical condition from under the debris after an hour and admitted to Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH), where he later died.
Koraput MLA Raghuram Machha, IAS probationer Santosh Patra, Sub-Collector Premlal Hial, Koraput Municipality Chairman Lalat Ranjan Sethi, SDPO, Town police IIC, and other officials were present at the site.
SP Verma and the sub-collector directed engineers to inspect other shops in the market complex by Sunday before taking further action.
Tehsildar S Sabir gave away an immediate financial assistance of Rs 30,000 to Patra’s family on behalf of the district administration.
PNN
