Mumbai: Seven people, including an infant and four women, were killed and nine others injured when a four-storey residential building collapsed in suburban Ghatkopar today, civic officials said.
The civic body’s fire service had earlier put the death toll at eight, but later revised it downwards to seven.
“The initial finding of eight dead was wrong. It was due to shifting of casualties between hospitals,” Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) chief fire officer P S Rahangdale said.
A resident of the ill-fated building claimed that some commercial activity was being carried out on the ground floor when it came crashing down.
According to the fire brigade officials engaged in the rescue operation, 15 people have been pulled out of the debris so far and referred to nearby hospitals.
The seven deceased include a three-month-old baby and four women, Rahangdale said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry into the incident, according to Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
Fadnavis has asked the BMC commissioner to submit a report within 15 days, Mungantiwar said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been pressed into service to rescue those trapped under the rubble.
The structure, that came down this morning at Ghatkopar’s Damodar Park area, housed around 15 families.
“About 75 per cent of the debris has been removed and a search operation is underway to find if anyone is still trapped under the rubble,” said Rahangdale.
The civic body’s control room received a call at around 10.43 am about the accident, a BMC official said.
Fire engines, a rescue van and ambulances were rushed to the spot immediately, he said.
Eyewitnesses said in the morning they heard a loud sound, similar to that of lightning as the building came down in a massive heap of rubble.
“When I came out of my building, I found a lot of dust, cries of people seeking help. I saw parts of the building collapse,” an eyewitness said.
According to a local resident, it was a 35-year-old structure.
The city and its suburbs received heavy rains over the last several days, though there has been some respite since yesterday with downpour giving way to intermittent showers.
The Mumbai Police cordoned off the area while traffic was blocked on the Lal Bhadur Shastri road to provide a ‘green corridor’ to rush those rescued to hospitals.
Rajesh Diyora, a resident of the ill-fated structure, said some commercial activity was being carried out on the ground floor and that might have led to the collapse.
Diyora had left for his office just before the building caved in.
The building was not listed among those in dangerous category, as per local residents.
According to a written reply by the government in the assembly about unsafe buildings in the metropolis, a survey by the BMC earlier this year had identified 617 such structures.
These buildings were termed as “dilapidated” in the survey report. The BMC has initiated action on the report under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888.
In all, 112 such buildings were vacated, while 42 were referred to the technical advisory committee to decide their fate.
The BMC has also submitted an affidavit in the Bombay High Court regarding 45 buildings identified as dangerous for habitation where people continue to live.
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