Mumbai building collapse death toll rises to 42; 33 injured

Mumbai: The death toll in the collapse of a four-storey building in Mumbai on Friday is now 42. Several of the victims are women. 33 people have been injured in the accident and about 70 people were rescued from the rubble, according to NDTV .

“We have taken out more than 40 persons. We will not panic and work until the last person is taken out,” National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) commandant Alok Awasthi said, told NDTV today .

The Mumbai Police earlier today arrested Ashok Mehta , the owner of a decoration firm who illegally carried out renovation works at his rented office-cum-warehouse on the ground floor of the ill-fated structure. Mehta has been booked under-section 304(2) of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Rescue operations were on today to find any possible survivor in the huge rubble of the five-storey residential BMC building BMC that collapsed in Mazgaon area here as the death toll in the incident rose to 25.

Rescue operations are still under way as several people are still feared to be trapped under the debris of the collapsed building.

Situated near the Dockyard Road, south Mumbai, the 33-year-old building was a civic employees’ staff quarters and housed around 21 families. The building which was categorised as a C-2 building, which meant that it was in need of urgent repairs, collapsed at 5.45 am on Friday.

The building is located on Brahmadev Khot Marg near Babu Genu market in the Mazgaon area, which is close to the Dockyard Road railway station on the harbour railway line.

Yesterday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had a meeting with senior officials and asked them to ensure effective relief and rescue operation. He also visited the injured at the J J Hospital and said strict action will be taken against those found guilty of the building’s collapse.

The affected families will also be given alternative accommodation in the vicinity and a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the family of the deceased, according to PTI.

The BMC has also decided to bear the cost of treating the injured, civic officials said. This is the second major building collapse in Mumbai this year. Aftab Mansion, a residential building in suburban Mahim West had collapsed in June, killing ten people.

(With inputs from PTI)