Mumbai Building Collapse: Death Toll Rises to 34, 13 Pulled Out Alive From Rubble, Rescue Operations On

Five families were living in the Husaini building when the structure collapsed two days after heavy rains lashed Mumbai city.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Aadil Ikram Zaki Iqbal

Updated: September 1, 2017, 10:38 AM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/india/mumbai-building-collapse-death-toll-rises-to-34-13-pulled-out-alive-from-rubble-rescue-operations-ongoing-2441187/ Copy

Rescue operations underway after a six-storeyed old residential building collapsed near J.J. Hospital in Mumbai.

Mumbai, Sep 1: The death toll in the Bhindi Bazar building collapse rose to 34 on Friday even as the rescue operation was still underway at the time of filing this report. While 13 people pulled out alive from the rubble till late on Thursday, seven residents are still feared trapped. In the worst building crash this monsoon, a 117-year-old, six-storey building collapsed in Bhindi Bazar around 8:30 am on Thursday.

Five families were living in the Husaini building when the structure collapsed two days after heavy rains lashed Mumbai city. There was a playschool on the first floor and two commercial establishments on the ground floor of the building. While the cause of the crash is being probed, officials of Birhanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the preliminary cause of the collapse could be the extremely heavy rains.

The Husaini building had been red-flagged as “dangerous” six years ago. According to the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), which is implementing the Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment project, the building housed a total of 13 tenants. Out of these, seven families had been shifted in 2013-14, said SBUT in a statement. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) had reportedly given permission for the demolition of the building on May 27, 2016.

After the collapse, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the crash site and ordered a probe into the disaster. Rehabilitation Minister Chandrakant Patil announced a compensation of Rs 500,000 to the kin of the deceased and free treatment to the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his grief. Opposition leader Dhananjay Munde blamed MHADA for not ensuring the redevelopment of the building.

Rescue operations involving National Disaster Management Force (NDRF), state disaster management, fire brigade personnel, dog squads and electronic gadgetry are continuing to trace those buried under the rubble. Five firemen and an NDRF jawan were injured during the rescue operation on Thursday.