Mumbai building collapse: 5 more bodies found, death toll reaches 17

Shiv Sena leader Sunil Shitap, who owns the ground floor and allegedly made structural changes that weakened the building, was charged with culpable homicide and detained by police.

The death toll in a Mumbai building collapse climbed to 17 on Wednesday after five more bodies were found in the rubble of the four-storey structure during search and rescue operations that continued overnight.

Fire brigade and NDRF personnel carrying out a search and rescue operation following a building collapse at Ghatkopar in Mumbai on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Close to 66 truck-loads of debris had been removed from the site of the residential building in suburban Ghatkopar till Wednesday morning, officials said, adding rubble was still being cleared.

The 35-year-old Siddhi Sai building came apart at around 10.45am on Tuesday, trapping at least 28 people. Two infants were among the 17 people who were pulled out dead.

Eleven injured people were admitted to local hospitals, an official of the disaster management unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

Every monsoon Mumbai reports such tragedies as building bylaws and safety norms are violated to meet the city’s ever-growing need for homes.

The ground floor of Siddhi Sai building housed a nursing home, which was vacant, while three or four families occupied each of the three floors.

Shiv Sena leader Sunil Shitap, who owns the ground floor and allegedly made structural changes that weakened the building, has been arrested.

Mumbai and its suburbs have received heavy rains over the last few days, though there has been some respite since Tuesday.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Ghatkopar Tuesday night and asked for a report on the collapse within 15 days.

(With agency inputs)