24 KILLED IN MUMBAI BUILDING COLLAPSE
6 firemen among injured, CM announces ₹5 lakh exgratia
MUMBAI : At least 23 people were killed and 21 injured, including 6 firemen, after a 117-year-old five-storey residential building collapsed in the congested Bhendi Bazaar area of south Mumbai on Thursday, days after torrential rain pounded India’s financial capital, officials said.
Thirteen tenants, including 12 families, were living in the building at Pakmodia Street, where underworld don Dawood Ibrahim once lived. Some reports said it also housed a play school but the children had not arrived when the building collapsed.
Nearly 125 fire brigade officials and 90 of the National Disaster Relief Fund were rushed to the site for the rescue operations. Three adjoining buildings were also being evacuated to ensure safety, said BMC officials. At least three people were pulled out alive from the rubble.
Police are yet to ascertain the cause of the collapse, which was again testing the city’s rescue operations after 14 people were killed by floods from heavy monsoon rains earlier in the week.
“Our priority is to pull out at the earliest those trapped under the rubble of the dilapidated building,” said Maharashtra industries minister Subhash Desai, who is also in charge of Mumbai.
“Once the rescue work is over, the government will conduct a probe. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty,” he told reporters.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the spot and announced a solatium of ₹5 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
He said the entire medical expenses of those injured will be borne by the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief in a tweet.
“Collapse of a building in Mumbai is saddening. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and prayers with the injured,” Modi tweeted.
Meanwhile, the state-run Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) held the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) responsible for the collapse.
The SBUT, run by the Bohra community, was granted the rights to redevelop a cluster of old buildings in the area, including the collapsed building.