Ten people were killed and around 25 were feared trapped after a three-storeyed building collapsed in Bhiwandi near Mumbai early this morning.
As per the initial information, 31 people have been rescued from the rubble of the building in Patel Compound area. A child was among the 11 people rescued by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials.
Bhiwandi is a power loom town around 10km from Thane. A civic official told PTI that the building, located at Narpoli’s Patel Compound near Dhamankar Naka, collapsed while the residents were asleep.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot. NDRF DG S.N. Pradhan said the team was 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 had been on a list of dangerous buildings and a notice for it to be vacated had been issued, the Times of India reported, citing Pankaj Ashiya, a commissioner in the Bhiwandi-Nizampura City Municipal Corporation.
Last month, at least 13 people were killed after a five-storey building collapsed in Mahad, an industrial town about 165km (100 miles) south of Mumbai.
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.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss.
President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed grief at the building collapse incident.
