4-yr-old boy rescued after 19 hrs
As search and rescue operations continued on Tuesday at the site of the collapsed building in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) pulled out a four-year-old boy alive from the debris almost 19 hours after it collapsed on Monday.
Rescue workers, who are working for the last 24 hours, heard the child crying, and spotted his hand.
A video shared by NDRF showed the rescuers taking out the boy from the rubble on a stretcher amid claps by onlookers. NDRF director general S.N. Pradhan termed the rescued boy as god's child. “Miracle child rescued alive — God’s Child. @NDRFHQ teams find a 4year-old boy. Ops will continue, canines used. Lets all pray for more miracles,” Mr Pradhan tweeted.
The boy, identified as Mohammad Bangi, suffered minor injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The death toll, meanwhile, rose to 12 on Tuesday. Rescuers sifting through the rubble of the five-storeyed building have so far rescued eight
persons while eight more remain missing.
The dead include the boy’s 30-year-old mother and two sisters, aged seven and two years.
More than 60 people have been rescued since Tuesday from the rubble of the which was about seven years old and had over 45 flats.
Police on Tuesday registered an offence against five persons, including the builder and architect of Tariq Garden building,
in connection with the collapse. The offence was registered against builder Farooq Kazi, RCC consultant Bahubali Dhamne, and architect Gaurav Shah under Sections 304, 304A and 338 of the IPC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sadness. “Saddened by the building collapse in Mahad, Raigad in Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their dear ones. I pray the injured recover soon. Local authorities and NDRF teams are at the site of the tragedy, providing all possible assistance,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted quoting Mr Modi.
Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia of `5 lakh each to the family of the deceased and financial assistance of up to `50,000 to those injured in the incident.