Ghatkopar rescue op ends after recovery of bodies

The BMC clears debris at the site of cave-in. Pic/Satej Shinde

Rescue operations at the three-storeyed bungalow that caved in at Ghatkopar East were called off at 6 am on Monday after the bodies of Naresh Palande and his mother Alka were recovered from the debris. "Naresh was trying to escape when the building collapsed but got trapped under a slab. His body was found in the passage of the house," Deputy Chief Fire Officer D K Ghosh said.

According to the fire brigade's report, the three-floor bungalow collapsed around 9.20 am on Sunday, and two people were trapped in the debris with their pet dog. After around 21 hours of search operations, the rescue team recovered the body of Alka Palande, 94, at around 12.35 am. Around 4 am, the rescue team found the body of the pet CoCo and around 6.30 am the body of Naresh, 54, was recovered.

Ghosh, who led the operation, said it was one of the most difficult operations carried out as the building had not collapsed completely and people were trapped under two slabs. The fire brigade and NDRF rescue teams tried to reach those trapped by making a cavity in the walls but were not able to spot them. "We demolished a part of the collapsed building and started the rescue operation again. It was not possible to demolish the whole building using JCB machines because if the people trapped inside were alive, they could be in danger," Ghosh said.