Two people were killed and nine others were injured after part of a residential building collapsed in Vasai area of Palghar district in Maharashtra, late Tuesday night, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Following the incident, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams rushed to the spot and launched a rescue and relief operation.
“Teams from the fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot and are continuing search and rescue operations using specialised equipment,” officials said on Wednesday.
The incident took place just after midnight, when the rear portion of the four-storey Ramabai Apartment on Narangi Road collapsed onto a nearby chawl (a type of low-cost housing).
According to the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC), rescue teams have so far pulled 11 people from the rubble. Two of them – Aarohi Omkar Jovil, 24 and Utkarsha Jovil, 1 – were declared dead at the hospital, reported the PTI.
The injured have been taken to hospitals in Virar and Nalasopara, both on the outskirts of Mumbai, officials said.
Vivekanand Kadam, Palghar’s District Disaster Management Officer, said, “Our priority is to make sure no one is still trapped under the debris. Search efforts are ongoing,” according to the PTI.
A temporary barricade has been placed around the area to control crowds and assist rescue teams. Structural engineers are inspecting the rest of the building and nearby structures for safety risks.
As a precaution, residents of nearby buildings have been evacuated, and investigations are underway to determine the cause of the collapse, Kadam added, as per the PTI.
In an official statement the NDRF said that the rear section of a four-storey building, Ramabai Apartment, collapsed onto a chawl (a row of small houses) located beneath it. The incident took place between Chamunda Nagar and Vijay Nagar on Narangi Road Several residents were trapped under the debris.
It said that the emergency rescue operations were immediately launched by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) Fire Brigade with the assistance of two teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). So far, 11 people have been pulled out of the rubble. All of them have been taken to different hospitals in Virar and Nalasopara for treatment.
“Two people have died in the incident,” the NDRF said.
The rescue efforts are ongoing as authorities ensure that no one else is trapped under the rubble. Nearby residents have been temporarily evacuated, the NDRF said.
