At least two people have died, seven are injured and around 15 are still believed to be trapped under debris after a four-storey residential building collapsed in south Mumbai’s congested Dongri area on Tuesday.
The ground-plus-four-storey ‘Kesarbai’ building, located in a densely populated narrow lane in Dongri’s Tandel Street, crashed around 11.40 am.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell said that 40-50 people were trapped initially. Some part of the building was left standing after the collapse.
Fire brigade, Mumbai Police and civic officials rushed to the site but the constricted lanes made it difficult to access the area, reduced to a mass of rubble, twisted concrete and broken wires.
Scores of locals joined in the effort, forming a human chain to help in removing the debris brick by brick and picking up slabs of concrete to locate those buried. Television visuals showed a young child being rescued and handed over to workers.
Ambulances could not reach the site and had to be parked around 50 metres away.
An eyewitness said the building collapse felt like a quake. The building was owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and its officials reached the site to assess the situation.
Mumbai police says ‘green corridor’ provided for rescue services and emergency vehicles:
Mumbai Police✔@MumbaiPolice
In an unfortunate incident, a G+4 Building collapsed in Dongri. Humble request to citizens to stay away from the incident spot to facilitate effective rescue operations by authorities. A green corridor has been provided for all emergency services and rescue operations.
Woman Among 2 Dead | Of the 2 dead, a man has been identified as Abdul Sattar Kalu Shaik (45) by Habib Hospital. The other, a woman identified as Sabiya Nisar Shaik (25) died at the JJ Hospital. Of the rescued, 3, including a child, have been injured.
BMC, MHADA Pass the Buck |
The BMC said that it had received an RTI, the building was declared to be dangerous and notices were issued to both the residents and the MHADA. The MHADA responded saying that it had also issued notices to residents to evacuate the building.
