Mumbai building collapse leaves 1 dead, 1 injured

Mumbai: A 41-year-old man died and another person was injured after a portion of a vacant building near Rizvi College, in Mumbai’s Bandra (West), collapsed, late on Monday.

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The three-storey building had collapsed on the compound wall of the neighbouring building and also damaged its ground floor. Search and rescue operation was still going on at the time of filing of this report. Two fire engines were at the spot and the debris was being removed.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell, around 8.30 pm, Bharti Building collapsed on the four-storeyed Hardik Villa residential complex on Sherley Rajan Road.

Fire brigade rescued seven people, two of whom were injured and were rushed to the hospital. The injured, Bruce D’Penha and Arjun Ramsagar Pandit (22) (41) sustained a leg and a head injury, respectively. D’Penha, who was visiting an electronic repair shop on the ground floor of Hardik Villa at the time of the mishap, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning. Pandit is recovering at Bhabha Hospital.

The collapse damaged the wall and compound area of Hardik Villa. Cars parked there were also damaged. After the incident, residents of Hardik Villa were evacuated.

Locals said Bharti Building was over two decades old. It tilted towards Hardik Villa and collapsed within seconds. Sadiq Rizvi, a resident of a nearby building, said, “This structure had been vacant for the past 20 years and the authorities did not take notice. It had become dangerous and should have been demolished long back. This collapse could have caused major damage and casualties.”

Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique said, “I have requested a thorough inquiry into the matter. The demolition of this building, provided no one was staying in the building, should have taken place before such an untoward incident happened.”