Three die as hotel ceiling crashes

JAIPUR: Three people died and as many as 50 others were injured after a portion of the false ceiling of a posh hotel in the city came crashing down on people gathered for a wedding celebrations inside its banquet hall on Wednesday.


Ramesh Modi, one of the guests, said that there were approximately 150 people inside the hall when the incident took place. “The accident was so immediate that we couldn’t get the time to react. The entire false ceiling fell down on people who were sitting at the dining table area. The entire hall was enveloped with dust. People who were buried inside the debris were trying to wriggle themselves out,” he said.


Soon the hotel staff called in the police, PCR vans, fire brigade vehicles, and rescue teams arrived at the spot. The third floor of the hotel where the incident took place was a picture of horror with the injured screaming in the pain and clueless guests trying to rescue their relatives from the debris.


The rescue team, armed with oxygen masks and first aids entered the room to rescue the people amidst sirens of ambulances rolling down in every ten minutes.


“As soon as we got into the hall, we saw people bleeding from their heads. Some people had received major injuries as pieces of broken florescent lights had cute into their skins,” said Ashok Tyagi, a member of the rescue team.


The injured were rushed to the nearby Fortis and Jaipuria hospital, whereas others were taken to the SMS Medical Hospital. The deceased have been identified as Nemi Chand (74) Satya Naryan and Keshav Dev. “We have cordoned off the hotel as it is unsafe for people. What led the ceiling to fall is a matter of investigation. A team of FSL officials has been sent to the hotel ” said a senior police official.


According to Hanuman Prasad, additional DCP (east) the hotel was booked by one Rajesh Jain, a resident of Mumbai. “The Jains had flown to Jaipur to organize a celebration for her niece, Manjula who lives in Jaipur. She was to soon get married to a Surat based businessman Kushel. Jain’s brother-in-law Mohan Gonenka was looking after all the arrangement,” Prasad told TOI.


According to the police, the guests had also come from Surat and Nawalgarh. Neem Chand is believed to bride’s grandfather while the other two who died were her uncles.The police has registered a case under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC based on Rajesh Jain’s complaint.


Meanwhile, Ramcharan Bohra, member of parliament from Jaipur came to the Fortis hospital to take stock of the situation and termed the incident unfortunate.