12 killed as building collapses in Mumbai''s Dongri; narrow lanes hamper rescue

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, July 16

Twelve people, including women and children, were killed after a four-storey building collapsed in south Mumbai’s Dongri area Tuesday afternoon, police and fire officials said.

Fire officials said access to the Kesarbaug building at Dongri’s Tandel Street was difficult because of the narrow roads.

A team of rescuers from the NDRF assisted by local residents helped remove debris with their bare hands to help pull out survivors.

“Twelve people died in the collapse while several families are still trapped in the debris,” Maharashtra Housing Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said.

Around 20 people were pulled out of debris and taken to hospital.

Those who were rescued unhurt were taken to a temporary shelter set up at the Imamwada Municipal Secondary Girls’ School nearby, according to officials.

Even ambulances could not access the area and had to be parked 50 metres away, police officials said.

Officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the Kesarbaug building had been declared a dangerous structure in 2012.

“We had pasted notices outside the building this year stating that it was in imminent danger of collapse and the civic body would not be responsible if people did not vacate the premises,” a civic official said.

According to officials at the Repair Board of the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA), the building was to have been pulled down and reconstructed by a private developer.

However, there was no progress in redeveloping the structure due to the slump in the real estate business in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the authorities began evacuating residents of the Ismail Mansion nearby after the building began shaking, police said.

Later in the evening, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a probe has been ordered into the collapse.

PM expresses anguish over loss of lives 

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed anguish over the death of 12 people after a building collapsed in Mumbai.

He said the state government and the National Disaster Response Force are working on rescue operations.

"Collapse of a building in Mumbai's Dongri is anguishing. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. I hope the injured recover soon. "Maharashtra government, NDRF and local authorities are working on rescue operations & assisting those in need," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting Modi. — With PTI inputs