9 rescued after structure collapses in Antop Hill, 3 hurt

Of the nine rescued in the Antop Hill incident, seven were sent to Sion hospital, while two reportedly refused hospitalisation. Three of the seven who have sustained injuries

Nine people were rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) after a ground-plus-one storey structure collapsed in Jai Maharashtra Nagar at Antop Hill in Wadala on Tuesday around 8am. Of the nine rescued, seven were sent to Sion hospital, while two reportedly refused hospitalisation.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the structure that collapsed was attached to two other structures, which also collapsed partially. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Three of the seven who have sustained injuries have been identified as Amit Mishra, 23; Surendra Mishra, 59; and Punam Sharma, 28.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the structure that collapsed was attached to two other structures, which also collapsed partially. The area is densely-populated and occupied by slums, and the houses are built with bricks and metal sheets. The ground floors of the affected buildings were occupied by commercial shops or godowns, while the top floors were residential spaces, according to the fire brigade officials. According to officials, the commercial space was doubling up as a scrap godown.

“The shops were closed in the morning when the incident occurred, but its owners live in the house on the top floor.”

Gajanan Bellalle, assistant commissioner of F-North ward, under which the area comes, said, “All three structures collapsed. The ground-plus-one storey structure collapsed completely, affecting the stability of the two adjoining structures, which are single-storey buildings with a partial first floor. The hutments are at least 15 years old and are on collector’s land.”

Another civic official from F-North ward, who was on the field looking over the rescue operations, said, “We decided to demolish the two other structures which had partially collapsed as they were weak. At the time of demolition, we vacated other adjoining homes and cut their power supply.”