2 killed,one trapped in Mumbra building collapse; father,son held

Residents of the eight-year-old building alleged that the builder had used substandard construction material and that the recent heavy downpour coupled with the running water of a nullah right next to the building had weakened its foundation.

Fire brigade and NDRF personnel said that the main problem was the poor accessibility to the site of collapse. The building was situated at the end of a narrow lane opposite Mumbra railway station that is wide enough for only one vehicle to pass through at a time. Vehicles had to first back into an even narrower lane so that they could turn around. Only one truck could carry the rubble removed from the site at a time.

“The poor accessibility means that the longer it takes to clear the rubble,the lesser the chances of any survivor being found,” said an NDRF officer.

National disaster response force (NDRF) commandant Alok Awasthy said the operation to clear the rubble was still under way,with 66 NDRF personnel working at the site of the collapse. According to official sources,the Banoo building no. 5 located in the Jeevan Baagh area of Mumbra started crumbling around 6:30 am Saturday. “There was a rumbling sound and the building’s rear portion started to sway a bit,creating panic among us. Some of us raised an alarm and ran throughout the building alerting the others,” said Khalil Sheikh (35),who stayed with his seven-member family on the third floor of the building.

At the same time,eight-year-old Asma Sheikh from a neighbouring flat,who had woken up to go to her father Mohammed Aslam Sheikh in an adjoining room,felt cement land on her head and woke her father up. He realised what had happened and joined in the efforts to vacate the building before it came down crashing.

Local corporator Yaseen Sheikh said,“I was at home when I received a call from residents of the building saying it had started to crumble. I rushed to the spot and began assisting with the evacuation. Almost everyone was out when the building collapsed right before my eyes.”

According to locals,Moin Qureshi and Hanif Qureshi,both first-floor residents,never made it out of the building.

Meanwhile,second-floor resident Javed Qureshi and third-floor resident Kazi had come out before the building collapsed but went back in to fetch something. The building collapsed minutes after they re-entered it.

Awasthy said that while they had initially received reports of only two people being buried underneath the rubble,locals later told them two others were missing.

Residents said that the building was eight years old and was built by the Banoo builders,whose office is also in the same area. “The quality of the construction material was so poor that one could drive a nail into a wall with one blow of a hammer,and could take it out with bare hands. This was pointed out to the builder but he said we should have thought about all this when we bought the flat five years back,” said Amjad Patni,who lived with his seven-member family on the third floor of the building.

The building has 42 flats ranging from one room-kitchen units to 2 BHK flats.

Meanwhile,the Mumbra police have detained the builders,father-son duo,and are questioning them.

Late on Saturday evening, an offence was registered and owners of Banno Builders,Shakeel and Akeel Shaikh were arrested.

On June 21,10 people,including a family of eight,were killed and 14 others injured when ground-plus three-storeyed Smruti building located outside Mumbra railway station collapsed. According to Thane civic officials,the building was constructed in 1979 and was not declared dangerous/ dilapidated.