At least four people have been killed and more than 30 are feared trapped in the rubble of a four-storey residential building which has collapsed in Mumbai. At least seven people are believed to have been rescued. This year it seems that this is happening everywhere around us. The reasons leading to this might be different, yet always a tragedy!
The incident which happened in the crowded Dongri neighbourhood. The rescue operation involving sniffer dogs is difficult. The 100-year-old building is in an area south of the city with narrow streets.
Ten ambulances and fire engines were deployed but had to park some distance away as the streets were too narrow for them to enter, according to reports. Machines that can move earth were also too large to get through the alleyways.
Crowds instead formed a human chain to help remove small debris like bricks and wooden blocks from the scene using their bare hands.
A teenager who said he saw the collapse told NDTV: “We heard a loud noise. Everybody shouted, ‘building is falling, building is falling’. I ran. It felt like a big earthquake.”
Another witness said: “I saw bodies… There were some seven, eight families in the building.”
It is the second such collapse in the city in less than 10 days. The area, full of dilapidated buildings, was flooded during recent heavy rainfall. Torrential rains in the June-September monsoon season can make older or badly constructed structures unstable by weakening their foundations. This has led to multiple building collapses over the years.