Two injured as SoBo building staircase collapses

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell, a portion of the sixth floor collapsed onto the fifth floor, prompting the evacuation of six occupants from the building.

MUMBAI: Two residents were injured after a portion of the staircase of a MHADA building in south Mumbai collapsed on Saturday afternoon, officials said. The two injured, Bilal Sheikh, 35, and Jamshed Sheikh, 55, sustained minor injuries and were discharged after treatment at a nearby hospital.

Two injured as SoBo building staircase collapses

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell, a portion of the sixth floor collapsed onto the fifth floor, prompting the evacuation of six occupants from the building.

The incident occurred around 12.30pm at the six-storey Lokhandwala building on Vitthaldas Chandan Street in Masjid Bunder, said resident Anandrao Gole.

The cessed building was not among the dangerous and dilapidated structures listed by the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) on May 29.

An MBRRB official said the board had initiated the process to evacuate the building in view of the incident and its structural condition. However, many residents, who were mostly goldsmiths from eastern India, were reluctant to leave immediately because of valuables stored inside their homes and workshops. Police and civic officials allowed them time till the evening to retrieve their belongings.

The incident comes weeks after a portion of the third-floor balcony of the Surya Prakash building on Babulnath Road in Walkeshwar collapsed on July 1, killing one person. That cessed building, too, was not included in the MBRRB’s list of dangerous and dilapidated buildings.