Ceiling of south Mumbai building collapses, 35 rescued

Thirty-five persons were rescued after a major portion of the third floor ceiling in a five-storey building that was undergoing repairs, collapsed in south Mumbai’s Fort area on Friday, a fire brigade official said.

Nobody was injured in the incident that occurred at Ashapura building on Vaju Kotak Marg in the morning, he said. “Major part of the ceiling of staircase and some other area on the building's third floor collapsed, due to which people residing on the floors located above that got trapped upstairs. All 35 persons, including a few women and children, were rescued,” the official said.

A civic official said, the façade of the building is intact and no signs of damage appear from outside.

Apart from the fire brigade, police and civic staff also reached the spot on being alerted.

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) is carrying out the repair work of this old building, he said.

“The Mumbai civic body has provided man power and machinery to remove the debris...MHADA will take a call about whether to raze the building or to continue with the repair work,” the official said.