Dharwad building collapse: Death toll rises to 16

Death toll reached 16 in the Dharwad building collapse on Sunday. Following the incident, the Karnataka government suspended seven corporation officials for negligence in connection to the building collapse.

Dharwad (Karnataka): Death toll mounted to 16 in the Dharwad building collapse after more bodies were recovered from the debris on Sunday. The rescue operation is still underway.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government on Saturday suspended seven corporation officials for negligence in connection to the building collapse that took place in Dharwad's Kumareshwar Nagar on March 19.

The officers suspended by the state government include -- city planning officer Mukund Joshi, assistant director city planning Ashok Gadag, revenue officer Prakash Dodamani, executive engineer V Shridhar, assistant executive engineer Chandrappa, city planning assistant BV Hiremath, and assistant commissioner Santosh Anishetter.

An FIR was also registered against the building owners identified as Ravi Basavaraj Sabarad, Basavaraj D Nigadi, Gangappa S Shintri and Mahabaleshwar Puradagudi.

The building, located in Kumareshwar Nagar, collapsed on March 19 following which the Indian Air Force airlifted two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel to Karnataka's Hubli to assist in rescue operations.