The toll in the collapse of a seven-storey Lakshmi Chhaya building in the northwestern suburb of Borivali on Wednesday has gone up to 28, making it the worst such incident in recent history.
Search and rescue operation for trapped persons under the debris continued throughout Thursday. Among the dead were 13 women and five children.
The building at Babhai Naka in Borivali was just 20 years old and was not declared dangerous to live or dilapidated. Only a part of the debris could be cleared as fire officers were taking lot of precaution not to hurt those still trapped under the rubble. “It will take one or two days more to clear the entire thing,” a fire officer at the site said.
The building on the Lokmanya Tilak Road had two wings each containing 12 residential flats while the ground floor was allotted to shops. One of the wings with 12 flats and seven shops collapsed on Wednesday evening.
As the onlookers gathered, the police put up barricades and the traffic moving towards the popular gateway Gorai near Borivali was diverted.
The injured were rushed to the nearby municipal-run Bhagwati hospital. Some patients were taken to Desai and S K Patil hospitals at Malad.
The city mayor, Shubha Raul, who visited the site, said that over 60 persons could be trapped in the debris. The civic authorities suspected the collapse might have occurred due to major structural changes made by the jewellery shop. The residents, in fact, had complained to the building’s managing committee about that.
So far 37 persons have been extricated from the rubble. In a miraculous escape, a 27-year old tuition teacher was removed from under the debris in the early hours. “She was unscathed, but her student was killed,” said the city’s deputy chief fire officer D J Gaitonde who is supervising the search and rescue operation.
Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh visited Bhagwati hospital on Thursday night and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the mishap. The deputy chief minister R R Patil who also visited said the government will give compensation to the victims.
The Bhagwati hospital was thronged by a large number of relatives and friends of the victims, searching for their near and dear ones. One such relative was Jayesh Mehta, whose three relatives were among the victims and were declared dead on arrival.
“We are still searching for my sister-in-law who must be trapped inside. We are hoping for her survival,” said Mr Mehta.
In times of disaster Samaritans always answer to the call of humanity. There is a Gurudwara nearby at Saibaba Nagar and members of the Sikh community there rushed to help the victims.
From the Gurudwara a steady supply of water, tea and biscuits was provided to the anxious relatives. During the day, even lunch was provided to them. The Gurudwara stationed five persons at the site to distribute food and snacks.
A surgical equipment manufacturer Nayan Sheth was another Samaritan, who gathered his friends and rushed to the site with medical assistance and helped in transporting the injured to Bhagwati hospital.
While these were civilian volunteers, the firemen in uniform were toiling through day and night on Thursday to save people. Three firemen were also got injured by the falling rubble during the clearing operation.
