GHAZIABAD: A five-storey building collapsed in Khoda colony on Friday evening, barely two hours after five of its occupants had vacated it with whatever belongings they had.There were no casualties and none suffered any serious injury. Things, however, could have been worse had the five-storey building and houses in the vicinity not been evacuated after the owner approached police saying the building had tilted to one of its sides and could collapse any time. A crane fixing high-tension wires had crashed into the building 10 days ago, causing substantial damage.Over 30 four-wheelers, including cars and pick-up vans, have been lying submerged in 10ft-deep water.A cyclist passing the area when the building collapsed around 7.15pm suffered minor injuries. Police said the building was owned by Hazi Rafiq Malik, a resident of Geeta Colony in Delhi. Spread over 300sqm, the building housed 10-12 garment shops and a shopping complex on the first floor. Its top floor, however, was vacant.Mohammad Sharif, a local resident, said Malik had gone to the local police station on Thursday evening as he apprehended the building could collapse any time. “Around 6pm, the owner of the building, Hazi Rafique Malik, informed us that it had tilted to a side. We rushed to the spot and evacuated the lanes adjoining it. True to our apprehension, the building collapsed today,” said KK Bhadana, executive officer of Khoda Parishad.Police said the damage caused to commercial establishments in the building had been reduced as most shops had been temporarily shut because of repairs. However, the collapse could have been fateful had other buildings in the vicinity not been cleared, much like Shahberi where one under-construction building collapsed on another, killing nine persons on July 10.“We are fortunate that the owner informed us in the nick of time,” Bhadana said.Ashfaq Ahmad, who owns a shop adjacent to the collapsed building said: “Around 5.30am on July 18, a hydraulic crane fixing high-tension wires had crashed into a corner of the building. A few pillars had developed cracks. The owner had almost evacuated the place and was carrying out repair work. The past few days of rain had made the soil loose and the building had tilted.”Gajendra Negi, another resident, said, “The situation worsened on Thursday morning, when the walls developed huge cracks. Five persons, who worked in one of the shops, vacated the building around 5pm with their buildings. Two hours later, the building fell.” SSP Vaibhav Krishna and district magistrate Ritu Maheshwari reached the spot after the collapse. Two teams of NDRF started removing the debris around 9pm.“No one was injured. But as a precautionary measure, NDRF teams have been called to ensure no one is trapped inside,” Krishna said.

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