3 of family, including 20-day-old baby, killed as house roof collapses in Kanpur

The police said preliminary investigations suggest that water leakage may have weakened the roof, with accumulated water adding to the load and eventually causing it to cave in.

In Short

• Roof of 35-year-old house collapses, killing 3 family members
• Preliminary probe suggests water leakage weakened the roof
• Bodies sent for post-mortem amid initial resistance from family,

Three members of a family, including a 20-day-old infant, were killed on Sunday after the roof of their house collapsed in Kanpur. The incident took place between 8.30 am and 9 am.

The victims have been identified as Vinodini Shukla (60), her daughter-in-law Anshika Shukla (28), and the latter's 20-day-old son, Aarav.

Anshika's husband, Harsh Shukla (32), survived the accident with injuries.

When locals removed the rubble, they found that Anshika had tried to shield her newborn child with her own body.

According to the police, the four family members were inside a room when its roof suddenly caved in, trapping them underneath the debris.

At the time, Anshika was breastfeeding her newborn son, while Harsh and his mother, Vinodini, were talking, according to relatives.

Hearing the loud noise, other family members and neighbours rushed to the spot.

They removed the debris and pulled out all four occupants before taking them to a health centre, where doctors declared Vinodini, Anshika and the infant dead.

The house, a single-storey one, is around 35 years old.

According to a relative, the four family members were going about their morning routine when a section of the roof collapsed.

A part of a support beam fell on Vinodini, while Anshika and the infant got trapped underneath the debris.

Harsh also sustained injuries but managed to survive.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) SM Qasim Abidi said preliminary investigations suggest that water leakage may have weakened the roof, with accumulated water adding to the load and eventually causing it to cave in.

The bodies were being sent for post-mortem examination. A team from the revenue department was also present at the site, the DCP said, adding that necessary legal proceedings were underway.

Police personnel had to persuade the family to agree to post-mortem examinations after the relatives initially took the bodies home from the hospital and refused to have the procedure conducted.

- Ends
(Based on inputs from Simer Chawla)