At least two people died and five were injured after a four-storey building collapsed in Shanti Nagar area of Bhiwandi city near Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday. Ashok Rankhamb, Commissioner of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation said,
Maharashtra: Bhiwandi Building Collapse
2 dead and 5 injured in the #Bhiwandi building collapse. This video was recorded when building was crumbling down pic.twitter.com/XeHNGRAmxc
— Saamana (@Saamanaonline) August 24, 2019
“Four people have been rescued so far (from the debris), out of which one is dead and two are critically injured. The building was in a dilapidated state and was being vacated when the incident took place around 1:30 a.m..”
Maharashtra: Rescue operations continue at the building collapse site in Bhiwandi. The incident has claimed lives of 2 people so far. pic.twitter.com/hSLXoVlmn5
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2019
He further added, “People had informed us that the building may collapse. I along with officers reached the spot and asked to vacate the building. People had vacated the building but then some people went inside to pick their luggage. Meanwhile, the building came down. It is an 8-year-old building and was built illegally. An investigation will be done.”
He also said that the situation could have been much worse had the families residing in the residential complex not been moved out in time after cracks were spotted in it late on August 23 night
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) immediately came into action and rescued four people from the debris and shifted them to a nearby hospital.
Disaster Management Officer Santosh Kadam said, “The building named ‘Manahara’, located at Pirani Pada in Shantinagar area, was very old and dilapidated. On Friday night, some residents noticed cracks in the structure, following which evacuation process was initiated post-midnight. However, even after the evacuation, some residents returned to the building, after which it collapsed around 1.30 am. Two persons died in the crash and their bodies were recovered from the debris,”
He further added, “The fire brigade and personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were carrying out an operation to rescue people trapped in the debris.”
However, over 10 people are still feared trapped in the debris. Rescuers are trying to find out those trapped inside the debris.
Meanwhile, the injured have been rushed to the Indira Gandhi civic hospital. The two deceased were identified as Siraj Anwar Ansari, 26, and Mohammad Aaqib Ansari, 27. Two fire officials were also injured in the incident.
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