Mumbai: 100-year-old building collapses in Dongri; 12 dead, 40 trapped
In a distressing incident, a four-story building collapsed in Mumbai's Dongri area on Tuesday. The structure, called Kesarbai building, is situated on Tandel Street. Reportedly, 12 people have died and nearly 40-50 people are still trapped under the debris. Three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and several fire tenders have been rushed to the spot for rescuing the victims. Here's more.
Watch: Teams get to work to save people
The accounts of eyewitnesses will send shivers down your spine
The incident was reported at 11:40 AM. "We heard a loud noise. Everybody shouted, 'building is falling, building is falling'. I ran. It felt like a big earthquake," a teenager told NDTV. Another eyewitness said the building must be 90-100 years old. "I saw the bodies of some children. There were some seven-eight families in the building," the person said.
Meanwhile, CM said an investigation would be conducted
While teams have got down to work to rescue people, the operations are being hindered due to narrow lanes. Moreover, the area, which was flooded a few weeks ago, is dotted with dilapidated buildings. Commenting on the incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "The building is around 100 yrs old. The entire focus is on rescuing the people trapped. Investigation will be done."
Reportedly, the building was to be repaired
This incident has once again brought attention to crippling infrastructure in 'Maximum City'. Owned by Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority, Kesarbai building was in dire need of repair. But before it could be made safer for habitation, it collapsed. Apparently, the building had already been handed over to BSB Developers for redevelopment, but work hadn't started. An official said this was a serious matter.
When residents asked BMC for redevelopment, they were shunned
About the obvious lapse, Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) Chairman Vinod Ghosalkar said a probe would be conducted to ascertain why the redevelopment work hadn't started yet. Meanwhile, residents said they had been visiting government offices for three years with a request for repair. But, whenever they visited BMC, the municipal corporation told them it had "no funds".
A few days ago a building collapsed in Solan
This incident comes days after a four-story building collapsed in Himachal Pradesh's Solan, killing 14 people, including 13 army men. The building housed a dhaba and the personnel went there for lunch when the building came down on Sunday. The wife of the owner, who ran the establishment, also passed away in the tragedy. Meanwhile, the owner was booked under relevant sections of IPC.
