Dramatic video of a three-story building collapsin in India

A triple-storey building in West Midnapore district in India collapsed on June 13 allegedly due to the cleaning work that was being carried out in a nearby canal. The incident happened in Nischintapur area of Daspur block in the district.

The building was owned by a local businessman, Nimai Samanta. It had a store for marble and household goods on the ground floor.

For the past few weeks, cleaning and dredging operation of the nearby Gomrai Canal was on. Locals say the work was being carried out under MGNREGA and employed mostly unskilled-workers. They say since the building was located close to the canal (in violation of local norms), its foundation was damaged when mud was taken out of the canal.

Early morning, residents of the building felt uneasy and vacated the house. However, around 8am, the building started shaking and collapsed within seconds.

No one was injured in the incident but people could not recover their belongings in time.