NEW DELHI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Tuesday's under-construction building collapse in India's southern state of Karnataka rose to seven, with at least 18 to 20 people still feared trapped under the rubble, a senior government official told Xinhua on Thursday.
The building collapsed in Kumareshwar Nagar of the state's Dharwad district on Tuesday.
Speaking to Xinhua over phone, Dharwad Additional District Magistrate Suresh Itnal said that efforts were being made to ensure that those trapped under the debris were rescued alive.
"Even last night we rescued two persons alive after more than 36 hours. They were perfectly fine with no major injuries, and walked back to their homes," he said.
The district official said the relief and rescue personnel were pumping in oxygen into the collapsed building in order to ensure that those trapped were able to breathe.
"It depends on the amount of will-power of the trapped. Those having strong will-power and able to breathe with the help of oxygen we are pumping in, will survive and have high chances of being rescued alive," said Itnal.
According to him, as many as 56 people have been rescued so far. The relief and rescue work was expected to continue for the next two to three days.
