Eight volunteers, who had come to donate blood at a drug evaluation centre, and a house keeping staff, were injured, two of them critically, when the lift of the four-storey building came crashing, at Kodigehalli here on Wednesday.
The injured were rushed to private hospitals. Technical problem caused the crash, said the Kodigehalli police.
The victims are Janardhan 37, Anil 25, Maruthi 36, Dodda Narasappa 38, Ganesan 35, Naveen R 33, Anjan Kumar 30, Rajashekhar 34 and Ravi Kumar 28. They belonged to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The condition of Maruthi and Ravi Kumar is serious as they sustained multiple injuries and are being treated at Columbia Asia Hospital on Bangalore-Bellary Road. Anjan Kumar is the house keeping staff, said the police.
The accident occurred around 5 pm at Semler Research Centre, a Central government agency for drug evaluation and pharmacology research. “The victims were going to the second floor when the accident took place. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the metallic rope gave way, causing the crash. The victims opened the grill door and came out,” the police said.
Thimme Gowda, an eyewitness who had brought snacks and coffee for the staff, told Deccan Herald, “I heard a huge sound when I was about to start my bike. I rushed back and saw nine people inside the lift with injuries crying for help. The intensity of the crash was such that the grill door broke into pieces,” he said.
The chief security officer of the building said they were being taken to the second floor for screening test.
Most of them sustained injuries on legs, knees, feet and back, Gowda added.
Semler started operations from September 30, 2010, and its head office is located in J P Nagar. It is the only such centre in Bangalore.
The staff identify volunteers for the evaluation. After screening, select drugs available in the market are administered to them and their response is studied. Each volunteer is paid around Rs 3,000 with food and accommodation for three days, said the staff.
“The Centre is located in a rented building and its CEO is Kritish Bopanna. It is not immediately known if the builder had obtained NoC from fire and emergency services department and adhered to National Building Code,” said the police
