Seventeen persons died after a four-storey building in Mumbai’s Kurla area collapsed late on Monday night, ANI reported, citing the National Disaster Response Force on Tuesday.
A wing of the residential building in Naik Nagar in Kurla East collapsed around midnight. Twenty persons sustained injuries, according to The Indian Express.
The incident was reported around 11.50 pm, according to the Hindustan Times. A team from the fire brigade department and the police rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations.
Twelve residents were rescued initially and those injured were shifted to civic hospitals in neighbouring Ghatkopar and Sion areas, reported PTI.
Two men, aged 28 and 30, were taken to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. They were declared dead on arrival.
Maharashtra Minister Subhash Desai announced that the family of the deceased persons will be given Rs 5 lakh each, while the injured residents will receive free treatment, according to NDTV.
“The incident will be investigated and action will be taken against those responsible,” Desai said. “A meeting has been called to ensure that such an incident doesn’t happen again.”
Fire brigade officials were searching for more survivors.
A dozen fire engines were at the scene carrying out rescue operations on Tuesday morning. Six ambulances and two rescue vans were also deployed.
“The building has been dilapidated and since 2013 notices were given to first repair and then demolish it,” said Ashwini Bhide, additional commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, ANI reported.
A connected wing of the building was also in a dilapidated condition and likely to collapse, and its residents were shifted out, a civic official said, according to PTI.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray reached the site late Monday night to assess the situation. He said that such buildings should be vacated immediately after receiving a notice from the civic body to avoid accidents.
“All four buildings were issued notices, but people continue to live there,” he added. “Our priority is to rescue everyone. In the morning, we will look into evacuation and demolition of these buildings so that nearby people aren’t troubled.”
This is the third major building collapse reported in the city in one month, according to PTI.
A slab of a two-storey industrial structure collapsed in Chembur on June 23. A 22-year-old person died and 10 others sustained injuries.
On June 9, a three-storey residential building collapsed in the Bandra suburbs, killing a 56-year-old man and injuring 18 others.
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