Building collapse claims 10 lives in Mumbai

The dead include younger son, wife and mother of Rizwan Merchant, advocate of actor Sanjay Dutt

June 11, 2013 10:10 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:18 pm IST - Mumbai

Ten people were killed and seven injured when a five-storey building in Mumbai’s Mahim area partially collapsed late on Monday night following two days of incessant rain. The dead include the younger son, wife and mother of Rizwan Merchant, advocate of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt.

Illegal construction

While civic officials refused to comment on the reason for the collapse, locals claimed that an illegal construction carried out in the car showroom at the ground floor of ‘Altaf’ building caused the collapse.

Mr. Merchant was in his office along with his elder son during the collapse.

Sayyad Rafi, a resident from the neighbouring building, said: “I had come out on Monday night for a cup of tea and suddenly heard a loud noise, as if there was a blast. It was dust everywhere and for a minute or two, I could not understand anything. Later, I realised that the building has collapsed.”

The building is located near the famous Mahim durgah and several cars parked around it were crushed under the debris.

Though fire brigade, police officials and personnel from the disaster management cell rushed to the spot, rains delayed the rescue work. The work could proceed in full strength only on Tuesday morning. The injured were moved to Sion, KEM and Bhabha hospital.

Probe ordered

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said, “We have ordered an inquiry into the episode. We want to check whether any restructuring was carried out without our permission. Action will be taken against those found guilty,” said an official.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.