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Two people were killed while five others were injured after a four-storey building collapsed in Shanti Nagar area of Bhiwandi in Thane district in the wee hours of Saturday, 24 August.
The five injured also include two fire officers. Several others are still feared trapped under the debris. According to PTI, the collapse took place at 1.30 am.
The tragedy could have been much worse had the families residing in the residential complex not been moved out in time after cracks were spotted in it late Friday night, an official told PTI.
“The building named 'Manahara', located at Pirani Pada in Shanti Nagar area, was very old and dilapidated. On Friday night, some residents noticed cracks in the structure, following which evacuation process was initiated post midnight,” chief of Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Santosh Kadam told PTI.
“We had received a message that column of the building might dismantle.Our emergency team reached here and after examination,they found that the building might collapse. We vacated the entire building but some people entered the building without permission. It was then the building collapsed,” Ashok Rankhamb, Commissioner of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation told ANI.
“It's an 8-year-old building and was built illegally. Investigation will be done,” he added.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF) and the fire brigade are currently at the site.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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