Mumbai building collapse: How neighbours comforted Ghatkopar residents amid tragedy

People from nearby buildings distributed water, biscuits, tea and bananas and consoled those who had lost relatives in Tuesday morning’s building collapse at Ghatkopar

As people waited for rescue operators to pull out their families from under the rubble, teenagers, women and men from nearby buildings came together to comfort them and help rescuers.

Residents did their bit to help the rescue operation. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

They distributed water, biscuits, tea and bananas and consoled those who had lost relatives in Tuesday morning’s building collapse at Ghatkopar.

Rajesh Diyora had left home around 9am, two hours before the building came crashing down like a pack of cards. His mother, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were trapped.

“Renovation work has been underway for the past month, and it was decided structural changes will not be done,” he said. Kishan Rao said his sister, daughter and five-month-old granddaughter were trapped while Raju Doshi’s son and wife had just stepped out to go to a nearby temple; he was trapped.

At the time of going to press, rescue workers and sniffer dogs were still searching the rubble for people trapped, as residents helped the fire brigade pull out beams, collect belongings and ensuring there was free space for ambulances to move.

Residents from the neighbouring Shanti Niketan society said they saw the building shake before it collapsed. One of them said, “I heard a loud thud and peeped out of my window to see a massive cloud of plaster dust.”