Bhiwandi building collapse toll rises to 11, including seven children; saddened by incident, says PM

Seven children and four others were killed and 13, including a four-year-old boy, rescued after a three-storeyed building collapsed in Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi town on Monday, police said. Around 10 persons are still feared trapped after the 43-year-old Jhilani building caved in at 3.40 am, police said, adding search operations are underway. The dead children include a two-year-old, a civic official said. Personnel of the Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF) were seen pulling out the boy, Ubed Quraishi, from the debris and feeding him water. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, expressed condolences to the families of those who died —

Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2020

President Ram Nath Kovind also put out a statement saying, “The loss of lives in the building collapse at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra is quite distressing. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the accident victims. I wish speedy recovery of the injured. Local authorities are coordinating rescue and relief efforts.” Building was not listed as dilapidated The building which collapsed had 40 flats and around 150 persons lived in it, an official said. A civic official told PTI that the building, located at Narpoli’s Patel Compound near Dhamankar Naka, collapsed while the residents were asleep. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot. NDRF DG SN Pradhan said the teams were using a canine squad to search persons trapped in the debris. A portion of the building collapsed and many occupants were trapped in the debris of the collapsed building, a Thane Municipal Corporation official said. The building was not in the list of dilapidated structures of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation, he said. An eyewitness said local residents rushed to the spot immediately after the collapse and helped pull out some persons from the debris. The power supply to the locality was snapped as a precautionary measure, the official said, adding the injured have been admitted to local hospitals. With inputs from PTI