5 dead, 100 trapped in Thane crash

This is the fifth major crash in the Wagle estate locality, which is notorious for unauthorised constructions.

At the time of the collapse, Sainath Apartments, an illegal building had a total of 175 residents. Out of the 40 flats, six were locked and the children had already left for school. Atleast 25persons who were rescued or escaped the mishap are lodged at a Thane Municipal Corporation School nearby. Thane mayor Premsingh Rajput, leader of the house Rajan Vichare and leader of the Opposition Manoj Shinde rushed to the scene to give a helping hand. Municipal Commissioner T Chandrashekar and police commissioner Bhujangrao Mohite supervised the rescue operations.

According to police sources, the builder Sharad Mansingh Pawar had come to the building to collect money from some of the flat owners who had promised to pay him in instalments. He came in at around 9.30 am, and immediately felt some tremors which continued for a good twenty minutes. This caused great anxiety in the building premises.

A second-floor resident of the building, Ashok Balkrishna Surve, said when he saw smoke puffing out of a pillar nearby, he quickly alerted the people standing around him and rushed out along with his wife and son. Other residents like Raju Bhomale and Sujith Pawar were on their way out of the building, when thestairs on which they were standing started to give way. The duo fled the spot warning other people who were standing close by.

The force of the collapse was so strong that a woman, Meena Khamkar (30) who was having bath in the adjoining building too became a victim. Since Sainath Apartments, was basically located amidst five other buildings, even the exist/entry to the place were congested.

The dead include Dhaval Vadvana (5), Geeta Sharma (13), Meena Khamkar (30), Meena (30), unknown (45). The injured are Asha Sharma (4), Pooja (2.5 years), Shailesh Salve (20), Neelam Rajesh Vadvanal (6), Gajendra Prasad Sharma (3), Geeta Jayprakash Sharma (21), Gangadhar Panchal (35), Poddrana Parmar (60), Gangaber Anana (70). All have been admitted to the Thane civil hospital.

Police Commissioner Bhujangrao Mohite who visited the site said the building besides being unauthorised had a weak foundation too. In spite of the weak foundation, the builder Sharad Mansingh Pawar began constructing another floor, puttinguntold pressure on the already weak structure. Moreover, the building was constructed upon a `nullah’, which further forced the building to crumble down that more easily.

According to sources, the building was constructed in 1993 after purchasing land from one Achyut Pandit. The owners were Sulochana Balchandra Chavan, Kanthabhai Chavan, Karunalal Malvankar who constructed a `chawl-type’ building. Later, they made an agreement with builder Sharad Mansingh Pawar and Tukaram Chavan for constructing 40 flats.

Thane Municipal Commissioner told The Indian Express that the building had been declared illegal and a notice in the regard issued as far back as November, 1995 to stop construction. The owners got a stay order from the Thane Civil Court but still TMC won the case in November, 1996. Though the owners again went to court in January, 1998, TMC finally secured the demolition order from the court.

But as the families were refusing to vacate the building, the TMC delayed the demolition process.

The WagleEstate police have registered an offence under Section 304 of the IPC and launched a manhunt for the buildder while his wife has been detained at the police station.