60-year-old dies after slab from adjacent building collapses on his roof

A 60-year-old man was killed and his 58-year-old wife was injured after the slab from an adjacent building collapsed on their roof on Sunday morning in Ulhasnagar

Ulhasnagar A 60-year-old man was killed and his 58-year-old wife was injured after the slab from an adjacent building collapsed on their roof on Sunday morning in Ulhasnagar.

The couple, who celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary on Saturday night, were in their house in the chawl in the morning when the slab from the first floor of the adjacent Sai Sadan building collapsed on their roof (Pramod Tambe)

The couple, who celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary on Saturday night, were in their house in the chawl in the morning when the slab from the first floor of the adjacent Sai Sadan building collapsed on their roof. As the man was still in bed, the roof collapsed right on top of him. His wife, who was in the kitchen, was injured. They were both rushed to the hospital and the woman is still undergoing treatment.

The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation officials immediately visited the area and vacated the place. Four families of Sai Sadan building were immediately asked to vacate and other two families in the chawl were shifted to a nearby school.

The deceased has been identified as Gopal Gabra, and injured his wife Varkha Gabra. The duo and their 28-year-old son moved to the house eight years ao.

Gopal, who worked in a garment factory for many years, was born and brought up in Ulhasnagar. His younger brother Jetho Gabra, 53, said, “It was his 38th marriage anniversary which he celebrated at night. Everyday he used to wake up early in the morning at 7am for yoga sessions. However, because it was a Sunday, he wanted to sleep till late. As my brother’s house has steel sheet roofing, the heavy debris broke the roof. After the collapse, the residents removed debris and immediately took them to the hospital.``

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Ganesh Shimpi, said, “The building needed maintenance and we were asked to do the same to all buildings who are more than 20 to 25 years old. This building was not in the list of dilapidated buildings although it is 25 years old. There were only four families on each floor of the building and we vacated all of them and transferred them to a safe place. Further inquiry in the matter is going on.”

An accidental death report has been registered.