A portion of an old four-storey building came down in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, trapping several construction workers along with members of a family who were still living inside when the structure gave way. Some of them are now trapped under the debris as rescue teams work to reach them.
The figure of how many people are trapped shifted through the day. Initial reports feared that 8 to 10 people may be trapped, while both the mayor and the local MLA later put the number at around six or seven, including the labourers who were on site. Authorities are yet to confirm an exact figure of the injured or the dead.
Panic grips the area as rescuers rush in
The collapse triggered panic in the surrounding neighbourhood, with residents rushing toward the site as soon as they heard the building come down. Fire brigade personnel and an NDRF team reached the spot quickly and launched a rescue operation to pull people out from under the rubble. The NDRF team has already managed to pull one woman out of the debris alive, and she has been rushed to hospital for treatment. The search for the remaining trapped people is still underway.
The building had already been marked dangerous
According to the information available, the four-storey Kohinoor building in Bhandari Compound, Narpoli, had earlier been declared dangerous by the municipal corporation and placed in Category C, meaning it had officially been flagged as unsafe and residents had been asked to vacate it. Most families that lived there had already moved out following that order. Only one family had stayed back, because it was getting some repair work done at its flat. It was during that repair work that a portion of the building suddenly gave way, trapping both the family and the labourers who were working on the site at the time.
Rescue operation running on a war footing
Rescue and relief work at the site is being carried out on a war footing in an effort to pull out everyone still trapped as quickly as possible. The administration has cordoned off the area around the collapsed structure to keep the rescue operation from being disrupted, and has appealed to the public not to believe rumours or get in the way of the rescue teams. Local police have also been deployed to manage the crowd gathering near the site.
BNCMC Mayor Narayan Chaudhary, giving details of the operation, said, "Those rescued from the building have been put up at the Gayatri Mandir-Geeta Hall." He added that around six or seven workers were believed to have been inside the building, and that teams from the fire brigade, NDRF and police were all working together on the rescue effort.
What the local MLA said about the incident
Bhiwandi West MLA Mahesh Chougule confirmed that the collapsed structure is the Kohinoor building in Bhandari Compound, Narpoli, and that another building stands right next to it. He said the municipal corporation had placed it in Category C, marking it as dangerous, and that it had indeed been vacated, but a few people were still working on the ground floor. "Around six or seven people may be trapped, including labourers who were working there," Chougule said. He added that an NDRF team had reached the spot, police were present, and the entire municipal corporation team was engaged in the rescue effort.
There has been no official word yet on the exact number of people injured or killed in the collapse. Rescue teams are continuing to clear the debris in the hope of reaching everyone still trapped, and the situation is being closely monitored.
