The occupants were sleeping when the ground-plus-one-storey building, housing six flats, located on Durga Road deep inside the Gauri Pada area near Dhobi Talao collapsed at 12.30am, said Yasin Tadvi, an official from the Regional Disaster Management Cell of Thane Municipal Corporation.
On receiving an alert about the building crash, fire department personnel and jawans from Thane and Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) disaster response cells rushed to the spot.
The incident has triggered fear among the residents of the area.
4-yr-old survives under Bhiwandi bldg debris for 2 hours; 4 others also saved
Four-year-old Adima Latif miraculously survived after being trapped for two hours under the debris of the Bhiwandi building that collapsed after Sunday midnight. “We were sleeping at night. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and saw dust everywhere. I got scared as some heavy objects [rubble] fell on me. I started to scream for help. After a long time, an uncle (a rescue jawan) pulled me out of the rubble,” Adima, who sustained an injury to her right hand and a few scratches on her head, told TOI.
The search-and-rescue operation lasted for nearly three hours and jawans from Thane and Bhiwandi-Nizampur disaster response teams managed to pull out all seven members of a family — three women, a man, and three children — from under the debris. Uzama Momin (40) and Taslima Momin (eight months old) later succumbed to their injuries, said officials. The injured—Latif Momin (65), Farzana Abdul Latif (50), Bushara Latif (32), Urusha Momin (3) and Adima — are undergoing treatment in hospital, said officials. Adima’s mother Bushra too was buried under the debris and sustained minor injuries. “I don’t remember much except for a loud thud and people screaming.
The entire room came crashing down and was engulfed with dust,” said Bushra, whose husband works as a food delivery boy. Relatives said the five survivors are in shock and have not been told about the death of their two family members. A civic official said they have initiated an inquiry into the cause of the collapse of the building, which is believed to be 40-45 years old. Ajay Vaidya, BNMC municipal commissioner, said, “We conducted an immediate meeting to take stock of the situation. We have initiated an inquiry to find out whether or not the building is illegal. Considering the safety of the residents, we have decided to demolish a structure which is in the front of the collapsed structure.”
The incident has triggered fear among the residents as there are many old buildings in the area, said local resident Shahbaz S. Bushra’s relative Saddam Shaikh said, “A powerloom is operational near the affected building, which results in vibrations for nearly 24 hours, excluding Fridays, which is a weekly off.” Bhiwandi zonal DCP Navnath Dhawale said, “We have launched an investigation into the building collapse and have sought documents from Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation, based on which further legal action will be initiated.”
