Bhiwandi building collapse: 3 killed, 7 feared trapped; rescue operation on

Teams of police TDRF, NDRF have been deployed for rescuing people trapped in debris.

Four people have died and a few feared trapped after a ground-plus-two storey building collapsed in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi. Around 10 people are undergoing treatment in hospital after they were rescued earlier. Two children named Prem and Prince were also rescued from the site.

Rescue operation is underway as three persons were killed after a two-storey godown collapsed at Bhiwandi city, in Thane on Saturday. (HT/Praful Gangurde)

The rescue operation is being carried out for over 20 hours since the building collapsed at 2 pm on April 29. Teams of police, Target Disaster Response Force (TDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for rescuing people trapped in debris. At around 8 am on Sunday, 42-year-old resident Sunil Pisal was pulled out alive.

The deceased have been identified as Navnath Sawant, 43, a driver, who had come to a warehouse in the building, Lalita Ravi Mahto, 26, who resided on the second floor along with her husband and two children and the third death was reported late in the evening as five-year-old girl Sona Mukesh Kori was pulled out dead from the debris around 9.30 pm.

On Saturday night, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde visited the Indira Gandhi Hospital to meet with people injured in the collapse after he visited the incident site earlier. He also announced ₹5 lakh assistance to each of the kin of the deceased.

Over the last four years, 58 persons have died in various building collapse incidents in Bhiwandi. In one of the worst incidents involving a building collapse, 38 people were killed and 25 others were injured in the Jilani Building collapse in September 2020 at Bhiwandi’s Patel Compound.

CM Shinde said any questions related to redevelopment of the site will be proposed and decided soon.

"Any questions related to redevelopment will be proposed and decided soon. I have given instructions to Collector and concerned officers that they must survey those buildings which are dangerous and can collapse anytime during monsoon season," he said.

(With ANI inputs)