A couple- Mr and Mrs Srivastava- is still stuck in the rubble, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav said adding that only Mr Srivastava’s leg is still stuck. He is being treated for injuries as his leg is being pulled out and is expected to make a recovery, Mr Yadav apprised.

Mrs Srivastava has still not been found and it is feared that she may be dead, he further said.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, is working to rescue the trapped people. Visuals show rescuers in bright orange jackets installing a ladder to reach the upper floors of the building.

“A drawing room on the sixth collapsed till the first floor,” Kaushal Kumar, a resident of the building, told ANI, adding the incident happened in “Tower D” of the high-rise.

According to HINDUSTAN TIMES Eight among the dead are children ageing between two and fourteen years. As per the officials of Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC), around twenty to twenty-five people are still trapped inside the debris.

“As per the required details from locals at least 20-25 people are still trapped inside the debris. We also learnt that some workers were asleep on the ground floor which runs a power loom,” said Milind Palsule, public relations officer, BNCMC.

The 36-year-old ground plus three-storey Jilani building, located at Patel compound in Dhamankar naka, Bhiwandi in Maharashtra Thane district, collapsed on Monday morning at 3.30 am. Around 62 residents were fear trapped in the rubbles at the time of the accident. The third floor of the building came crashing down on to the first floor.

The injured are being rushed to the Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) hospital in Bhiwandi.

Ashish Kumar, NDRF deputy commandant who is leading the rescue operation, which involves over 100 rescue personnel, claimed that more and more dead bodies are being pulled out from under the debris now.
The rescue operations took a halt for 30 minutes on Tuesday morning as the team had to manage and balance the slab of the third floor that came crashing down.

“Those who are removed from the debris are mostly dead now as their chances of surviving inside the debris is less. We are working in shifts and trying to pull out them,” said Kumar.

Government will infuse ₹10000 crore in the fund while the remaining ₹15000 crore will be contributed by State Bank of India, LIC and other financial institutions. The fund will help incomplete housing projects of less than ₹Two crores per unit in Mumbai, ₹One and half crores per unit in other metros including national capital region (NCR) and ₹One crore per unit in other parts of the country get ready for move-in.

“We welcome the announcement by the Finance Minister to set up a `Special Window` in the form of AIF and dedicate a fund of 25,000 crore for the completion of stalled housing projects. The move is expected to create an avenue of relief to homebuyers and the developers in the sector. The specific fund is expected to revive 80% of the real estate projects. This action by the government will induce cash flow in the system and kick start the revival process. This decision will not only help in completing the stuck projects in this sector, but will also regain the confidence of buyers to invest in real estate. The benefit will surely be felt in NCR and Mumbai region.” – Ashish Sarin, CEO, AlphaCorp 

Falling prices, shrinking sales and piling inventory have collectively created hurdles before the developers. Situation was worsening as the fear of default made financial bodies reluctant to lend for these projects. The consequent slump in the construction affected current jobs and future job prospects. The move would help generate considerable employment opportunities.

In an another relief, the industry players facing insolvency proceedings are allowed to avail funds, who were earlier debarred from the September package. The fund will also be available for projects declared defaulters. All these inclusion will collectively improve market sentiments for the real estate sector.

But, to avail the benefits of the fund the projects need to be registered in RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development Act). Besides, they should have a positive net worth. Projects declared an NPA or are before the NCLT but not asked for liquidation will also get benefits. Financially viable projects lacking funds will be at the core and will get benefits from the allocation.

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:

The building housing a small eatery and a small guest house collapsed following heavy rains on Sunday afternoon when 30 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) of Assam Rifles, all from the nearby Dagshai cantonment, were eating lunch there.

Nearly 15 civilians, including the eatery’s staff, were also present inside the building on Nahan-Kumarhati Road near Solan, some 55km away from Chandigarh.

The dead now includes six soldiers of the Indian Army and the wife of the building’s owner, according to officials. The dead JCOs have been identified as Raj Kishore, Balwinder Singh, Vinod, Ajit Kumar, Pardeep Chand and Yogesh and the woman as Archana Devi.

Nearly 12 more people, including seven soldiers, were still feared trapped in the building. Twenty-seven people, including 17 soldiers and 10 civilians, have been rescued from the debris.

AS Per Hindustan times National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official Ajay Verma, who is involved in the rescue operations, said the bodies retrieved from the debris were badly crushed. “We are praying for some life in the debris,” Verma said.

As a team of the army and NDRF staff continued to search for survivors beneath the debris, inconsolable cries of the family members of those stuck inside could be heard as a body was pulled out at about 3am on Monday.

This building was constructed in 2009 and a floor was added to it recently. An FIR (first information report) against the owner has already been lodged.

Chief minister Jairam Thakur has already ordered a probe into the incident and is likely to visit the site later in the day.

First, the fourth floor collapsed. After some time, the entire structure came down,” said an eyewitness.