Building collapse kills 8 in Bhiwandi

Eight people, including two children and three women, were killed and 22 others were injured when a residential building collapsed in Bhiwandi due to heavy rainfall.

The two-storey structure at Gaibi Nagar in the powerloom town crashed around 9.10 am. According to sources, the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) had declared the building to be highly dangerous a couple of years ago and, a few days ago, the residents were served an evacuation notice by the nearby Shanti Nagar police station.

About seven to eight families were residing in the building. After the collapse, firemen and police officers, along with the disaster management team of the BNMC, rushed to the site for rescue operations. Fire brigades from the nearby Thane and Kalyan-Dombivali municipal corporations were also summoned. Taking note of the gravity of the situation, the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was finally called in to assist in the relief work. Heavy rains were also affecting the rescue operations.

The names of the deceased are Ayesha Khatoon Ansari (50), Shahajahan Khurshid Ansari (42), Maddasir Khursid Ansari (22), Mohammad Saif Khursid Ansari (17), Khalid Khurshid Ansari (16), Saqib Khurshid Ansari (12), Sufiya Shahanawaz Momin (19) and Rohim Ejaz Ansari (10). The injured people were rushed to Thane Civil Hospital and a hospital in Bhiwandi, where they are being treated.

Though the building was declared dangerous, the residents did not vacate it due to a dispute with the owner, locals said. According to BNMC data, there are 1,096 dangerous buildings in the city, of which 267 are highly dangerous, whereas 256 buildings are involved in legal hassles.

Tafajjul Ansari, a former deputy mayor of the BNMC, blamed the civic administration for the high number of casualties in the incident. “The disaster management cell officials reached the spot late, due to which works like the removal of debris and the rescue of trapped people started late. Local people had to undertake rescue operations on their own. Had the BNMC officials acted on time, the number of casualties would have been less.”

Guardian minister Eknath Shinde, MP Kapil Patil, MLA Rupesh Mhatre, collector Mahendra Kalyankar and BNMC commissioner E Ravindran visited the spot and supervised the rescue operations.

“The cost of treatment of the injured people will be borne by the state government. The decision to give monetary aid to the families of the deceased people will be taken after consultations with the chief minister,” said Mr Shinde.