2 die in Rajawadi bungalow collapse, 7 injured in another house collapse in Ghatkopar

Six incidents of house and wall collapses were reported in Mumbai on Monday during the ongoing monsoon season. Two deaths were reported in a house caving incident on Sunday while a collapsed balcony injured seven people on the same day. The city recorded light rains on Monday, and 17 incidents of tree and branch falls were reported. In May, the city's municipal corporation had listed 226 buildings in the city as extremely dangerous due to their dilapidated state and vulnerability to harsh rains.

Mumbai: The monsoons arrived late this year, but has already brought death and destruction in its wake. Two days in and a house caving incident and a collapsed balcony on Sunday have become the talking points of the season. This escalated to six incidents of house and wall collapses in the city on Monday, day three -- three in the eastern suburbs, two in the island city and one in the western suburbs.

Mumbai, India - June 26, 2023 : BMC were clearing debris after two bodies recovered in a bungalow collapsed at Chittaranjan Nagar, Ghatkopar, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 26, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The Rajawadi bungalow at Chittranjan Nagar, Ghatkopar – ‘Prashant’ -- that caved in on Sunday, led to two deaths. The two residents who were stuck inside the property were rescued in an overnight operation by officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Mumbai fire brigade in the early morning hours of Monday. However, Alka Palande, 94, and her son Naresh Palande, 56, who were taken to Rajawadi Hospital after the rescue were declared brought dead.

The three-storeyed bungalow started tilting at around 9:25am and collapsed within five minutes on Sunday. It stood among single-storeyed Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) structures built in 1960s. Although the fire brigade had conducted a thorough search throughout Sunday using victim location camera (a device used during such incidents) by making a cavity in the building, the stranded persons could not be located as beams and partition walls created barriers.

According to BMC, of the seven injured, three were treated and discharged immediately while four others were admitted at the Rajawadi Hospital. Those in the hospital are Mahadev Khilare, 50, Sunita Khilare, 42, Rohit Khilare, 23 and Vaibhav Khilare, 20, while Pranay Khilare, 30, Rohit Sonwane, 21, and Amit Yadav, 27 were discharged earlier.

BMC did not divulge details of the two other calamities in the eastern suburbs, an equal number in the island city and one in the western suburbs, calling them “minor” incidents.

On Monday morning in Goregaon, a migrant worker Harish Chavan, 55, died after suffering burn injuries due to a gas leak at his home. The resident of the Shree Ganesh Rahivasi Seva Mandal was declared brought dead at the HBT Trauma Care Centre, in Jogeshwari.

Chavan, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, had shifted to Mumbai a year ago, and was employed as a loader. He had lived on the first floor of the ground-plus-one structure in the slum with two others, on rent. Arjun Verma, an eyewitness and Chavan’s neighbour said, “Flames started coming out from the stove when he started making breakfast this morning. There must have been some leakage in the valve. While his two other roommates were able to escape, Chavan couldn’t. We have informed his family. His son, who works in Goa, is on his way here.”

The city saw light rains on Monday. Seventeen incidents of tree and branches falls were reported in the city of which a majority – nine -- were from western suburbs followed by six incidents from eastern suburbs and two from the island city.

Till 6pm on Monday, the average rainfall recorded in the western suburbs was 15.43mm, and that in the eastern suburbs was 11.5mm while the island city got 0.70mm rain. In May this year, the BMC had listed 226 buildings in the city under the C1 category – extremely dangerous – as they are dilapidated and therefore vulnerable to withstand the harsh rains.