AMRITSAR, India (AFP) -- At least 20 people were feared trapped Monday after a building housing a blanket factory collapsed in northern India, a senior police official said.
Television footage showed emergency workers searching through the debris of the building which collapsed late Sunday night in the town of Jalandhar in Punjab state.
Jalandhar‘s deputy commissioner of police, Tulsi Ram, told AFP about 90 people had been working in the factory when it caved in, according to rescued workers.
“We have rescued about 60 to 70 people so far, they tell us that at least 20 people are still trapped under debris, some with smashed bones. The rescue effort is in full swing,” he said.
No fatalities have been reported so far.
One eyewitness told the CNN-IBN television channel that the collapse was triggered by a boiler explosion, but police declined to speculate on the cause pending an investigation.
