india

Updated: Jun 01, 2020 21:22 IST

An eyewitness said it felt like an earthquake after a 100-year-old building came crashing down on Tuesday in south Mumbai’s congested Dongri area.

At least three people were killed and eight injured after the four-storey residential Kesarbai building was reduced to a mass of rubble, twisted concrete and broken wires in a heavily populated and narrow lane in Tandel Street. More than 40 people still trapped under the debris, officials said.

Television channels showed visuals of a child, wrapped in a piece of cloth, being taken out of the debris by rescue workers. The child was rushed to a hospital, where doctors said the toddler’s condition was stable.

The fire brigade, Mumbai Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and civic body officials rushed to the site as congested lanes made it difficult to access the area.

Scores of locals joined in the effort and formed a human chain to help clear the debris with bare hands to locate survivors.

Ambulances could not reach the site and had to be parked around 50 metres away.

The building was owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and had a ground floor and three other storeys

MHADA chairperson Uday Samant said the building was given to a private builder for re-development.

“If the developer has delayed re-development of the collapsed building, then he will face action. If some MHADA officials are responsible for the delay in its development, then they will also face strict action,” he said, according to news agency PTI.

Congress leader Ashok Arjunrao Jagtap said residents had been complaining to MHADA to take prompt measures as the building was very old and in a dilapidated condition.

(With agency inputs)

Four-storey building collapses in Mumbai, 50 people feared trapped