The toll in the building collapse in Raigad district of Maharashtra rose to 16 on Wednesday, after two more bodies were recovered from the site of the accident, PTI reported.
An official said that one person had died on Monday night due to heart attack after getting injured in the incident. “So the death toll in the incident is 16,” he added.
The authorities called off the rescue operation around 11.30 am on Wednesday after all 17 people – 15 deceased and two alive – who were reportedly missing, were traced down. The operation lasted for over 33 hours and was jointly conducted by the National Disaster Response Force, the local police and the fire department.
“The bodies of a 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman were recovered in the early hours of Wednesday,” Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar told PTI. “This took the death toll in the incident to 15. As all the 17 persons who had gone missing after the incident, including 15 victims, were traced, the rescue operation was called off.”
On Tuesday, a four-year-old boy was pulled out alive from under the debris, 19 hours after the accident. A 60-year- old woman was also rescued, nearly 26 hours after the building collapsed.
The five-storey Tarek Garden building in Raigad’s Mahad tehsil area that collapsed on Monday, was over 10 years old and had at least 45 flats. The authorities have yet to determine the cause of the collapse.
However, Police Raigad Collector Nidhi Choudhari on Monday night ordered the registration of a case against the builder, the architect and the contactor, according to The Indian Express. The district administration has identified one Yunus Shaikh as the builder, and a Patel as the contractor.
Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar said the state government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of every deceased person. “Financial assistance of upto Rs 50,000 will be provided to those injured in the incident,” he added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday assured the district administration of all possible help. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, meanwhile, said that the building collapse was “very tragic” and added that he had personally spoken to NDRF director-general to expedite the rescue operation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed grief about the tragedy. “Saddened by the building collapse in Mahad, Raigad in Maharashtra,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted. “My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their dear ones. I pray the injured recover soon. Local authorities and NDRF teams are at the site of the tragedy, providing all possible assistance.”
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