Eleven, including eight children, killed in building collapse in Mumbai
(Sourced from PTI)
Eight children and three adults were killed and seven others injured after two floors of a three-story building collapsed on an adjoining single-story house in the Malwani area of Mumbai. The incident took place around 11.15 pm on Wednesday at the New Collector Compound on Abdul Hamid Road in the Malwani area. Civic officials had earlier said that a single-story house had collapsed.
As per the BMC, the collapsed building was located on the collector's land and its owner got permission from the collector's office while constructing a permanent structure However, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vishwas Nangre Patil told reporters that the building was constructed illegally and had serious structural faults. The building reportedly suffered certain damages during Cyclone Tauktae last month.
"Fire brigade and other agencies immediately rushed to the spot and started a search and rescue operation," an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. Eight children and three adults died, he said, adding that most of the deceased were from two separate families. Seven others were injured and the condition of one of them was critical.
All the deceased have been identified. Names of those who lost their lives in the incident are- Sahil Sarfaraz Sayyed (9), Arifa Sheikh (9), Shafiq Md Saleem Siddiqui (45), Tausif Shafiq Siddiqui (15), Aalisha Shafiq Siddiqui (10), Alfisa Shafiq Siddiqui (1.5 years), Afina Shafik Siddiqui (6), Ishrat Bano Shafiq Siddiqui (40), Rahisa Bano Rafik Siddiqui (40), Tahes Safik Siddiqui (12) and John Irranna (13).
People rescued from under the debris were taken to nearby hospitals. According to civic and fire brigade officials, some people might still be trapped under the rubble and the search and rescue operations were on. Patil said that Wednesday's incident could have been averted if proper precautions had been taken. Meanwhile, the contractor has been taken into custody and is being questioned.
"We are registering an offense under section 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and will take effective action in this case," a police official said. "The offense is being registered against the building's contractor and owner," the official said.
A similar incident of slabs collapse was reported in Ulhasnagar of Maharashtra's Thane district last month. The slabs of five flats in the Sai Shakti building, a ground-plus-five-story structure located at Nehru Chowk had collapsed. Seven people lost their lives in the incident. The deceased belonged to two families residing in the building.
