Punjab: Worker killed as cold storage building collapses in Punjabs Bathinda; NDRF wages 8-hour rescue battle

Cold storage collapse:  A foreman lost his life after a cold storage structure caved in at Bhagta Bhai Ka village, located roughly 45 km from Bathinda city, on Wednesday afternoon. The body of the deceased, identified as Sohan Singh, was pulled out from under the rubble late Wednesday evening after an eight-hour rescue operation.

The incident took place when the cold storage unit, situated on Bagha Purana Road, suddenly gave way, trapping at least three workers inside. Two of them were pulled out within minutes by local residents and volunteers who rushed to the site. Sohan Singh, however, remained buried beneath the wreckage until rescue teams could reach him.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with local police personnel and community volunteers, worked continuously under demanding conditions. The operation was significantly complicated by scattered structural debris and an active ammonia gas leak, which posed a serious health risk to everyone involved in the rescue effort.

Preliminary reports suggest that an explosion in an ammonia gas cylinder may have triggered the structural collapse, though authorities are yet to officially confirm the cause. The facility, believed to be nearly two decades old, was primarily used for potato storage. Several vehicles, including a car, were also crushed under the debris when the structure came down.

It is learnt that this was not the first time that the building had collapsed. A  a similar incident had occurred at the same cold storage in 2016, though no casualties were reported.