Four persons, including two minor girls, were killed and six injured when an over 100-year-old dilapidated house collapsed here today, officials said.
The two-storey house located at Daita Lane collapsed early in the morning killing four on the spot, Additional District Magistrate Uddhab Chandra Majhi said.
The injured were admitted to the district headquarter hospital here and two of them were discharged after first aid. Condition of the rest was stated to be critical, police said.
The state government announced Rs one lakh assistance each to the families of the deceased, while the injured would be provided free medical treatment, official sources said.
The deceased were identified as caretaker of the house Bauri Barik, her daughter Swetsweni Barik (11), their relative Sarojini Barik (16) of Chandanpur and Sulachana Das (58) of Agalamala in Balasore district.
Some of the victims had come to the pilgrim town for darshan of Lord Jagannath from Agalamala in Balasore and were staying in the dilapidated house, police said adding about ten persons were inside the building when it collapsed.
The fire brigade from Puri and nearby Brahmagiri were engaged in rescue operation. It took them over three hours to rescue the injured and clear the debris, they said.
The Additional District Magistrate, who visited the spot, said poor maintenance of the building appeared to have led to the mishap.
He said there were many old and dilapidated buildings and structures in Puri town and the administration would examine their condition soon.
