Bhadrachalam building collapse: Workers die after 10-hour rescue operation

View of the collapsed building in Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Wednesday (March 26, 2025). |Picture source: Arrangement

A construction worker was released shortly after nearly 10 hours of rescue operations, trapped under debris from a six-story building collapsed in Bhadrachalam Town on Wednesday (March 26, 2024).

The deceased was identified as Challa Kamesh, 48, a resident of Jagadeesh Colony, Bhadrachalam. After a violent rescue operation, an injured Kamesh injured the severe Kamesh and rushed to the government district hospital in Temple Town around 1.45 a.m., where he succumbed to the injury and was treated at the hospital.

Rescue operations by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and Singaporeni Collies Company Limited (SCCL) are still explaining another construction worker, Upender, who is believed to be trapped under rubble at the site of the building collapse.

Collector Jitesh V. Patil and Police Chief B. Rohith Raju have been monitoring the rescue operation until Thursday (March 27, 2025).

Upender’s excited relatives sat down on the main road in Temple Town Thursday morning, demanding a quick rescue of trapped workers. They seek strict action against the owners of the collapsed building, calling the incident a man-made tragedy.

Several residents of the area claimed that a Sripathi built a multi-storey building in the old basement, blatantly violating the construction regulations of a few Bhadrachalam Major Gram Panchayat in Bhadrachalam.

They accused him of collecting funds under the name of “Sripathi Seva Trust”, which was a multi-storey building adjacent to the small temple of the goddess Bhavani.

Official sources said that what collapsed in the building was an illegal structure and that two notices were provided to its owners earlier to stop their construction, but in vain.

Meanwhile, the collector said strict action will be taken against the owner of the unauthorized multi-layer structure, which crashed, killing a construction worker and trapping another in debris. An intense rescue operation is underway to explain another worker trapped under the ruins.