Mahad building collapse: Alert residents, empathetic neighbours, save lives

Due to the alert sounded, many came out immediately from the building, which has 40 flats housing 95 people

The alertness, and empathy, showed by residents in and around Tariq Garden, the building that collapsed in Mahad on Monday, saved many lives.

Mujahid Shaikh raised an alert when he saw the building’s pillars shaking.(Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

Irfan Jogilkar, a resident of Tariq Garden, had just returned home when his nine-year-old daughter said, “The building is trembling”. “Initially, I did not take it seriously. However, after few seconds I ran out of my flat and started banging on doors of others on the fifth and fourth floor. I appealed people to come out. Several other residents, by this time, also realised that building is tilting,” said Joglikar.

Due to the alert sounded, many came out immediately from the building, which has 40 flats housing 95 people.

However, some people stayed behind to collect their belongings and lost their lives as a result, said Joglikar.

Another resident Mujahid Musa Shaikh was engaged in relief operations.

Shaikh, who stays in a neighbouring society, said, “I saw the pillars collapsing and and raised an alarm to which people responded. I got some senior citizens out in time. One of my close friends may lose both his legs as doctors have suggested amputation. I saw some people who went back to their flats to fetch jewellery.”

When the building collapsed, most people had just returned home from work. Had the incident happened later in the evening, or at night, many more lives would have been lost, residents said.