Portion of residential building in Thane’s Daighar collapses, tilts to one side

Residents of the Jayanta Apartment in Daighar have been told to remove their belongings from their flats that will be demolished later on Saturday

THANE: A portion of a five-storey residential complex in Daighar collapsed and the building dangerously tilted to one side late on Friday, prompting the authorities to evacuate the residents and vacate adjoining buildings.

A Thane Municipal Corporation official said the building Jayanta Apartment will be demolished. (HT Photo/Praful Gangurde)

Police said two residents of the building, Jayanta Apartments, sustained minor injuries in the incident that took place at 11.50pm on Friday.

Municipal officials said the electricity connection to the complex has been disconnected as a precautionary measure and it will be demolished on Saturday.

“As a precautionary measure, all the residents were evacuated from the building. The power supply to the building was also disconnected. Nearby chawls and shops have been vacated too and the residents were offered to be accommodated at Thane Municipal Corporation school at Padle Gaon. However, people opted to shift to their relatives’ place,” Avinash Sawant, chief of the municipal corporation’s regional disaster management cell, said.

The ground floor of the building has 15 shops. Eight families lived on the other floors, many of them vacant.

Municipal officials said the rescue teams returned to the complex on Saturday morning to help residents remove their belongings before the demolition starts.

Jitendra Pawshe, who runs a restaurant near the building, said the families are trying to move their belongings before the proposed demolition.