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15 injured as Bandra East slum collapses in LPG blast, 2 critical
Gas had leaked from an LPG cylinder and accumulated in the room. It ignited, possibly because one of the residents lit a flame, said a chief fire officer
MUMBAI: “I saw God during the five hours I was trapped. I screamed out to people to pull me out, only to be told, again and again, to wait,” recalls Hasina Shaikh, 53, rescued from beneath piles of rubble after her slum home in Bharat Nagar, in Bandra East, collapsed early on Friday.
Shaikh was among 15 residents whose lives hung in the balance for hours as they waited for rescue personnel to find them. Tragedy struck the sprawling slum colony, where a ground-plus-two storey structure was torn apart by an LPG explosion at 5.40am. The gas had likely leaked all night long and ignited when one of the residents lit a stove.
The fire brigade, civic officials, police and other rescue personnel rushed to Bharat Nagar after the explosion, which took place in a unit on the first level of the slum structure. It was occupied by Rehana Ansari, 65, and her husband Mehmood Ansari, 68, who bore the impact of the blast, suffering 50-60% burns.
Rescue operations were underway until 11am. Thirteen injured residents are being treated at Bhabha Hospital in Bandra West, while the two critically injured residents are at KEM Hospital. There were no casualties.
Hasina Shaikh, 53, and her son, Asif Allabash, 25, also living on the first level, waited longest to be rescued. “I was just about to begin my morning prayer when a section of wall fell on me. Fortunately, it created a pocket of rubble around me, protecting me from worse harm. I was up to my knees in debris,” recalls Hasina. “My son was pulled out after me,” says Hasina.
Mustafa Ibrahim Sayyed, 57, who lived on the ground floor with his wife and two teenage daughters, said he woke up to the sound of an ear-shattering explosion. “It was still quite dark but I could see debris and blood flowing from my head and on my arms,” he says.
His daughter, Alfiya, adds, “My mom was combing my younger sister, Aliya’s hair, getting her ready for school, when our home started crumbling and debris started raining on us. She instinctively covered my sister, to protect her, and took the brunt of the impact.”
The family of four quickly rushed out of their home, seconds before large portions of the structure came crashing down.
Other residents too were lucky to escape with minor injuries. A shell-shocked Abdul Rehan Irfan Khan, 16, lived on the second level. He and his family fell to the first level upon impact, and emerged from the disaster site through a broken window of the adjoining mosque.
“I pulled myself out from the rubble and then helped my mum get out. She was pinned down by a large piece of wall. My eight-year-old brother, Lareb, pulled himself out.” Khan says his father was nowhere in sight. “We located him after we found his foot sticking out of the rubble.” Lareb, bleeding from the ears, is in intensive care in Bhabha Hospital.
Vinod Khade, medical superintendent at Bhabha Hospital, said 12 residents are under observation at the hospital. “All of them have minor injuries. One has been discharged.”
The couple who sustained burn injuries has been admitted to KEM Hospital. “They have sustained second-degree burns, that is, 60% of their body has sustained burns. Their condition is serious but relatively stable,” said a doctor at the ICU at KEM Hospital.
Chief fire officer Ravi Ambulgekar said, “Gas had leaked from an LPG cylinder and accumulated in the room. It ignited, possibly because one of the residents lit a flame. The impact led to the structure collapsing. We have kept two vehicles on standby as the debris is being cleared. We have rescued everyone who was trapped.”
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