ONE DEAD IN BUILDING CRASH IN BANDRA

One person died and five people were severely injured after a portion of a ground plus four structure in Bandra east came crashing down in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. A portion of the Rajjak Chawl, located above a shop, Mehak, at Kherwadi Road collapsed around 1.45am, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

Seventeen residents trapped under the debris were safely rescued, six of whom were extricated even before the first responders reached the spot. The deceased has been identified as Riyaz Ahmad, 28, while those injured have been identified as Nural Haq Haidar Ali Sayyad, 21, Salman Atik Khan, 24, Rahul Mohan Khot, 22, Rohan Mohan Khot, 22, and Lata Mohan Khot, 48. According to local residents and eyewitnesses, Riyaz Ahmad’s body was pulled out from the debris before BMC officials arrived on the scene.

The rescued were rushed to Bhabha, VN Desai and Cooper hospitals for treatment. A civic official present at the spot said that the portion of the building that had come down was a makeshif t shelter, which fell because it was overloaded. “As per our estimate, more than 10 individuals were staying in the building when it came down. The lower portions of the building were more affected more than the upper floors,” said the official. “However, we will be carr ying out an enquir y to assess the reason for the collapse, pre-monsoon showers could also have been a factor,” the official added. According to local Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui, who had rushed to the site on being informed about the incident, Riyaz Ahmad was from Bihar and had come to Mumbai to work at a warehouse located in the same building. “We have been tr ying to reach his family since morning (Monday),” Siddiqui told the FPJ. Siddiqui also said that on the lower floors of the building there were multiple warehouses and storerooms, while the workers lived on the floors above, the labourers used to stay. Three of the five injured sustained minor injuries; however, of the other two, Lata Mohan Khot required stitches for her head injur y while Rohan Mohan Khot’s right leg was fractured, civic officials said. However, both were in stable condition as on Monday, at 8pm. “There was a loud sound af ter the collapse. Locals rushed to the spot, formed a human chain and started rescue operations,” said a local resident. “Before the fire brigade arrived, around six people had been pulled out by the locals. Even the fire brigade appeared understaffed and these people helped in the rescue operations,” said another local resident. Mumbai Fire Brigade officials said that due to the rains they had a problem in clearing the debris. “There was a power cut and it was also raining, so it took us more time than usual to clear the debris and rescue those trapped,” said an official. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Parag Masurkar, under whose jurisdiction the site is located, said the plot on which the building stood is owned by the railways. “The structure that collapsed is located inside a narrow lane. This caused a major hindrance during the operations, as it took a lot of time to get our equipment inside the lane,” Masurkar said. Siddiqui said that the BMC officials had arrived late at the spot. “We had been trying to reach the BMC for more than three hours but until 6am, only two labourers had managed to reach the spot,” he said. “Around 4.30-5am, a car full of labourers arrived at the spot. When we requested them to help, they said they had to report at their ward office before joining the operation and left,” said Siddiqui.