MHADA repairs underway at time of incident
A portion of an under repairs five-storeyed building in Chippy Chawl's Zaveri Bazaar area near Kalbadevi collapsed yesterday at around 1 pm. Out of 16 persons, 12 have been evacuated to safety, while one labourer is still feared trapped and three were crushed to death. Efforts are underway to rescue them safe and sound.
Ten labourers had been working on the fourth floor, out of which seven were successfully rescued. Out of six labourers who had been working on the first floor, five were brought out safely. No residents had been staying in the building at the time of the incident.Rescue and relief operations are in progress, but owing to the nature of the packed area, clearing off the debris took some time.
The repairs were being carried out on the fourth floor of the building by the MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority). The missing are believed to be the staff of the repairing contract agency.
The reason to be believed for the slab collapse is the load bearing brick wall and an attic-like structure, which gave way and weakened portions of the other floors too causing the structure to collapse.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade reported a level-II house collapse and swung into action on being informed about the collapse. Four fire tenders rushed to the spot as one rescue van and four ambulances were put on standby.When asked how long it would take to retrieve the remaining missing, “We are facing difficulties in search and rescue operations because it is a narrow lane and is highly congested, but efforts are on,” said Prabhat Rahangdale, Chief Fire Officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade.
At the time of going to press, three of the missing labourers were pulled out dead. While efforts to rescue the fourth were underway.
“Three of the trapped workers have succumbed while we are trying to rescue the fourth person. Investigations will be conducted and arrests will be made accordingly, if necessary,” Dnyaneshwar Chavan, DCP - Zone 2, said at the time of going to press.