Pune: Building collapses in Mundhwa, 4 kids among 8 rescued from rubble

As the building is located in a narrow lane, the rescue crew struggled initially while trying to bring the heavy machinery to the spot. In the six-hour-long rescue operation that followed, all eight persons were rescued.

The incident took place in Keshavnagar on Saturday morning. (Express photo/Sandip Daundkar)

A two-storey residential building in Keshavnagar in Mundhwa collapsed on Saturday morning, trapping eight persons, including four children, under the rubble. They were later rescued and rushed to hospitals for treatment. No loss of life was reported in the incident.

The owner of the building, Kailas Subhash Bhandwalkar, who lived there with some family members, was injured in the collapse. He had also rented out some rooms in the building and some of his tenant were injured.

The incident took place at 11.30 am, when the walls of the building collapsed. Local residents rushed to the spot and tried to rescue those who were trapped under the rubble. They also informed police and the Fire Brigade. Soon, teams from the Pune Fire Brigade and Mundhwa police station, ambulances and the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Quick Response Disaster Management Squad reached the spot.

The police team, with the help of local residents and the Fire Brigade, started the rescue operation soon, said Senior Police Inspector Anil Pathrudkar of the Mundhwa police station. Two JCB machines and one Poclain machine were pressed into service.

As the building is located in a narrow lane, the rescue crew struggled initially while trying to bring the heavy machinery to the spot. In the six-hour-long rescue operation that followed, all eight persons were rescued.

They included Bhandwalkar, his wife Aruna, family members including Chaya Bhandwalkar and one-year-old granddaughter Mugdha, and tenants, 12-year-old Sakshi Shikhtal and her three-year-old sister Swara, Vinita Ramsuraj Maurya, and her five-year-old son Aditya. The injured were treated
at Sassoon hospital and KEM hospital and were in stable condition.

Police said the building also had a cattle shed on its premises. While two cows and two buffaloes were rescued from the rubble, three buffaloes died in the collapse.

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Prima-facie, it seemed the old building, located close to a nullah, had caved in due to the heavy rains, said police.

“The building owned by Bhandwalkar was around 25 to 30 years old and a load-bearing structure. There has been no loss of life in the incident. The building collapsed as it was too old… and because of the rainfall… the fire department of PMC, with the help of machines, removed the debris,” the PMC stated in a press release.

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