At least nine people were killed after a four-storey residential building collapsed in Bhiwandi near Mumbai late on Thursday night. Some people are still feared trapped under the debris.
Municipal officials said the structure with 48 rooms, 12 on each floor, came crashing down at around 11.30 pm. The civic body had earlier declared the building unsafe, and repair work on it was underway when the building collapsed.
Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation Assistant Municipal Commissioner Arvind Ghogare said officials rushed to the spot after receiving information that the building had developed cracks.
Ghogare said the structure, which is said to be just over a decade old, was undergoing illegal repair work at the time. “It came crashing down just a few minutes after we came out. While the residents were brought out, the workers engaged in the repair work remained inside. We suspect that about five of them are trapped,” he said.
“When we reached, we saw that the building was cracking up. We went inside with our team and evacuated the residents,” he added. According to him, most occupants came out after being asked to evacuate, though “some women initially said they wanted to stay back to eat”.
Fire officials retrieved the bodies from the rubble. Most of the victims are believed to be workers engaged in repair work at the building. Six people were rescued from the debris, while an injured boy was pulled out and rushed to a nearby hospital.
Residents said they heard loud cracking sounds from the building at around 9 pm on Thursday. Alarmed locals informed the authorities, after which several families were evacuated from the premises. However, while some occupants were still making their way out, the B Wing of the building suddenly caved in.
A large-scale rescue operation involving multiple agencies is in progress. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), the local fire brigade and police are carrying out rescue efforts. A dog squad, four fire engines, two ambulances and heavy earth-moving machinery have also been deployed at the site.
PM announces ex gratia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the building collapse and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of those who died and Rs 50,000 to the injured. “Pained to hear about the loss of lives due to the collapse of a building in Thane, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi said in a post on X.
The PM also announced that an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PM National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each deceased, while Rs 50,000 would be given to each injured.
CM calls for evacuation of dangerous buildings
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has called for the evacuation of dangerous buildings with greater urgency, saying authorities should use persuasion and, if necessary, force to move residents to safety. He said he had directed the Municipal Commissioner to initiate legal proceedings against the contractor who continued structural repair work despite the building being declared unsafe.
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