IMD officials said that widespread rainfall is likely across all districts of Karnataka till September 24. Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: J. ALLEN EGENUSE

The death count in the Bengaluru building collapse increased to five on Wednesday morning as rain continued to batter the IT hub. Efforts are underway to clear the debris and rescue the trapped persons. Five people have been injured and 13 have been rescued so far, officials said.

The building collapsed last afternoon in the Horamavu Agara area in the eastern part of Bengaluru. There were around 20 people inside the building at the time of the collapse, said officials.

The rescue operation resumed this morning amid a continuous downpour in the city. A dog squad also joined the rescue operation, reported news agency ANI.

One of the trapped persons, Ayaaz, was rescued alive after being stuck for nearly 16 hours.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited the tragedy site on Tuesday night, stating that 21 people were trapped under the debris. The under-construction collapsed building was being built illegally on a 60/40 land, he said, assuring that strict action will be taken against the culprits.

“The search for the others continues. First we will complete the rescue work and then give a suitable solution. NDRF, SDRF rescue team, fire brigade, and police have done well. I have ordered action against the owners of buildings constructed illegally without permission in Bengaluru. This incident is a lesson for us. To prevent such incidents from reoccurring in the future, it will be made mandatory to obtain permission for the buildings and a team will be deployed to monitor the buildings under construction,” he wrote in a post on X.

“We are labourers working here. When we were on a lunch break at around 1.00 pm, we heard a loud sound, and the building started shaking. A man who was working inside the building died on the spot,” another eyewitness, Mehfoos, stated, while speaking to ANI.

Bengaluru:

Just as the weather agencies predicted on Thursday, humidity built up to 47 per cent in Bengaluru before the clouds let loose, drenching parts of the IT hub. Bengalureans took to ‘X’ to compare notes on ‘rain status’ in their locality.

Weather enthusiast Vijay, who tracks the day-to-day swings of Karnataka weather on his page, ‘Namma Karnataka Weather’ started a thread on rain, listing areas where it rained heavily, moderately, lightly as well as areas where rains drizzled for a mere few minutes.

Ended up in Bengaluru to catch the first rain with Pakodas and Tea. https://t.co/wuGOIWynvQpic.twitter.com/ikphXSa78w

— Aishwary.eth (/acc) (@0xAishwary) May 2, 2024

Rains finally arrived at Namma Bengaluru this is first Rain of the season giving some kind of relief from the heat wave. Bengaluru record as much as 39 degree which is second highest temperature in last 5 Decades. pic.twitter.com/mlKdSDi9LT

— Anil Bharadwaj (@anilbharadwaj99) May 2, 2024

Kids enjoying the rains near Kanakapura road in Bengaluru. What a sight #BengaluruRainspic.twitter.com/O160XkEctT

— Karnataka Weather (@Bnglrweatherman) May 2, 2024

Residents of Whitefield and Jayanagar were happy to report heavy and thundering rain. But most were complaining that the drizzle only made things worse, with Bengaluru getting more hot.

‘X’ user Aravind Balaji (@aravindn15) complained of “too many winds” near Banashankari and surroundings. From Malleswaram too, ‘X’ user Anil Raje Urs (@AnilRajeUrs3) said even as it started to rain in his area, strong winds chased the clouds away.

Another ‘X’ user, Jeevan Bk (@Bkjeevan) was disappointed that there was no rain in north west Bengaluru. So, were Thirumenhalli and Yelahanka residents and social media users who complained that the much-awaited rain gave them a few droplets preview after a thundering entry and disappeared off the horizon.

Drizzling In parts of chikkbanavara Bengaluru….
Just like for 2min https://t.co/R39vs4U3Mepic.twitter.com/3WSQ1Qi88V

— Jeevan Bk (@BkJeevan) May 1, 2024

Meanwhile, according to Meteorology Centre Bengaluru, India Meteorology Department (IMD), maximum temperature in Bengaluru ranged between 39.1 and 38.2 degree celsius. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)