Latest on Mumbai Building Collapse: 19 Feared Dead
Report from Rons Bantwal (MB)
DaijiworK Media Network - Mumbai
10.00am IST, Jul 19, 2007
Mumbai, Jul 19: Eight fire engines and five ambulances rushed to the spot soon after the incident, and rescue operations continued well into the night as authorities tried to clear the rubble looking for survivors.
''I heard the sound first. Then I saw the building just lean over and crash,'' said one eyewitness.
As per latest estimates, around 19 people have been killed while nine others are in hospital - out of which the condition of four of them is said to be serious.
Around 40 more people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble.
There were about four to five flats on each floor of the building, which is over 25-years-old. According to reports, 12 families were living in the flats of the collapsed section of the building.
For now, the families of the victims are grappling with the tragedy, for instance, the mother of 40-year-old Jatin Shah, who lost her only son.
Jatin was at home while his father and wife left for an evening walk, and then the building came crumbling down, informed Bhupesh Shah, a relative.
At the Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali, the scene was chaotic through the night as the injured and the dead were brought in.
Anxious relatives and friends milled around desperate for some information about their loved ones trapped inside.
In the midst of this confusion, VIPs like the Home Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh visited the site and promised help. The chief minister has also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
''To give them medical treatment is our priority and then we will look into the findings of the enquiry,'' said Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Nevertheless, as the rescue work goes on at the site, the wait and vigil for many at the hospital continues.
Updates at 00.30am, Jul 19, 2007
MUMBAI, Jul 18: Ten people were killed, twelve injured and over 60 feared trapped when a seven-storeyed residential building partially collapsed in a north-west suburb on Wednesday.
A portion of the 20-year old Laxmi Chhaya building at the Babhai Naka in suburban Borivali collapsed at around 1730 hours resulting in the casualties, the police said.
The deceased include three men, six women and a girl while four of the injured have been discharged after being administered primary treatment, they said.
Mayor of Mumbai Shubha Raul said 60 more are feared to be trapped in the debris and added that prima facie, the civic body suspects that the building would have collapsed due to some major structural changes carried out by a jewellery shop on the ground floor.
Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra R R Patil, who visited the spot, has ordered an enquiry into the collapse and questioned why did not the building figure in the list of endangered buildings in the city.
He has also assured relief from the state government to the kin of the deceased and the injured persons.
The police said that 12 of the total 24 residential apartments and around seven commercial establishments on the ground floor have collapsed.
Mumbai, Jul 18: The Raja Lakshmi building comprising seven floors, located in the VIP Colony on V P Road, Borivli (West) started to collapse around 6-20 pm .
The building is 22 years old.
Ninety people, including women and children, are feared to have been trapped under the debris and the fire service and the police, assisted by the citizens, are making every effort to save them.
Daijiworld's Mumbai correspondent Rons Bantwal has rushed to the spot.
More details and pics will be posted later.