India – Collapsed Building Kills at Least 12 People

A five story apartment building collapsed, resulting in the death of at least 12 people, and many others buried under tons of concrete

At least 12 people suffered a tragic death, and at least 6 others were trapped in the aftermath of the Indian building collapse. The cause is yet to be discovered during further investigation.

The severe housing shortage and lax regulation have led to the unfortunate situation in which too many people had to crowd themselves into old, weak, and much below standard structures.

The building was known as Saidarshan and was located in a lower-middle-class neighborhood of Ghatkopar, an eastern suburb of Mumbai. The ground floor belonged to a nursing home, which, fortunately, was unoccupied at the time of the collapse. However, when the building started to collapse, the apartments on the upper four floors were overcrowded with residents.

Soon enough, cries for help, sirens and moans of trapped people filled the nearby streets.

Hundreds of workers, neighbors, relatives of the victims and friends, put up an entire rescue operation, helped by a crane and a fire engine. Together, they started pushing mounds of concrete and other rubble in attempt to save as many people as possible from the tragic incident.

Fourteen people were pulled out alive and were taken to local hospitals, according to Mahesh Nalavade, deputy commandant of the National Disaster Response Force. He also said in a telephone interview that his 40-member rescue team had retrieved 10 bodies and soon spotted other 2 victims.

The scene was beyond words. One man was desperately crying and screaming as soon as he discovered that his father had died in the collapse. A group of women was also crying uncontrollably while waiting for news on their family.

Unfortunately, India’s public infrastructure projects are substandard and collapse often, which leads to tragedies like this.

 

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