The death toll in the building collapse in Maharashtra’s Raigad rose to 16 on Wednesday, 26 August, as the rescue operations continued for a second day since the incident on Monday evening.
The deceased include 7 males and 9 females, reported news agency ANI.
Several were being rescued even hours after the collapse of the residential building with 45 flats housing nearly 100 people collapsed at around 6:30 pm on Monday. Visuals of a four-year-old boy being rescued from the debris went viral as the search operation continued with one person still reported to be missing.
Rescue workers carry a body recovered from the debris of the collapse.
(Photo: PTI)
Rs 5 Lakh Ex Gratia Announced for Families of Deceased
Maharashtra Minister Vijay Wadettiwar said an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each will be given to the families of the deceased, while financial assistance of up to Rs 50,000 will be provided to the injured.
“Those who lost their houses should also be given some help. Hence, we’ll put this in front of the Cabinet tomorrow. We’ll not spare people responsible for this collapse, they murdered innocent people. The quality of construction material is very poor...,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.
Maharashtra ministers Aditi Tatkare and Eknath Shinde had visited the spot in the wee hours of Tuesday. Thakare said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) must be constituted to probe the cause of the collapse.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to offer condolences to the families of the deceased and said that authorities are providing all necessary help.
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