Mumbai: 117-year-old Building Collapse, Death Toll Mounts To 33

At least 33 people died when a 117-year-old building crumbled down in Mumbai’s Byculla area on Thursday, 30 August. More deaths reported overnight when the old building collapsed with godowns, residences and a play school. The deceased include 24 men and nine women.

Collapse of building in Mumbai is saddening. My condolences to families of those who lost their lives & prayers with the injured, tweets PM

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2017

As reported by The Hindu, fire brigade officials have said that nine more dead bodies were pulled out from the debris in the overnight search and rescue operations.

Efforts are currently in progress to rescue more people who may still be trapped in the debris of the six-storey building that collapsed, said the officials. They also added that the other nine people who were rescued had been admitted to the JJ Hospital nearby.

The catastrophe struck barely two days after torrential rain brought the city to its knees, disrupting its rail and air services, crippling roads, inundating homes and leaving at least five people dead at a time.

Many presume that the rainstorm caused further damage to the dilapidated structure, thus causing its crash.

During the rescue operation, six officials of the fire department and one official from the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) also suffered injuries.

The officials revealed that eight fire engines, ambulances and one rescue van have been are at the collapse site to help the personnel in rescue operations.

Maharashtra, MLA Amin Patel told the press, “Notice to vacate the building was issued to the tenants. 50% had vacated the building while the rest remained.” He added that the structure was too old and frequent complaints of leakages were reported so far.