Thirteen Army personnel and a civilian were killed after a three-storey building collapsed in the Kumarhatti area of Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, around 80 km from on Sunday.
Twenty-eight people including 17 Army personnel and 11 civilians were rescued from under the debris during rescue operations.
The building, located on the Nahan-Kumarhatti road, housed a restaurant and collapsed on Sunday evening after heavy showers.
According to Solan Deputy Commissioner (DC) KC Chaman, at least 42 people were trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building of which 28 including 17 Army personnel and 11 civilians, have been rescued.
The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police are jointly carrying out the rescue operation. Three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams including one each from Haryana’s Panchkula and Shimla’s Sunni also joined the forces.
The Army personnel belonging to Assam Rifles from nearby Dagshai cantonment had reportedly gone for lunch at the restaurant.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur early on Monday visited the building collapse site.
He also expressed grief over the incident and said that orders have been given to investigate the cause of the collapse.
“As per the information received till now, the building structure was not as per specifications,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Thakur earlier on Sunday said that it is believed that heavy rains might have eroded the soil around the foundation of the building, resulting in collapse.