Navi Mumbai: 2 dead after building collapses in Belapur, bodies recovered

NDRF personnel are conducting rescue operations at Belapur building collapse site/ NDRF

Two persons died after they were trapped under the rubble of a four-storey building that collapsed on Saturday morning in Navi Mumbai. Personnel from the fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) responded to the incident that happened in the Belapur area of the city. The officials said that they rescued two persons and found dead bodies of the two deceased. They added that the bodies were handed over to the city police.

The incident happened in the wee hours of Saturday in Sector 19 of Shahbaz Village in Belapur. Officials told media that they had received a distress call around 4.50 am informing them about the collapse.

The two persons rescued from under the debris have been identified as Lal Mohammad, aged 22, and Ruksana aged 21. Meanwhile, one of the deceased has been identified as Mohammed Miraj Shaikh, the other's identity is not known.

Zoya Deshmukh, a resident of the building, said that she received a call from her neighbour informing her about the building showing signs of collapse and a column having cracks. "I informed all the other neighbours informing them as I had all their numbers. We cleared the building promptly and did not go out to get our belongings either. Within 25 minutes, the building collapsed," she said.

When asked whether they saw the signs that the building would collapse, she responded by saying that they were caught off guard and did not anticipate it. "Had our neighbour not informed us about the signs of building collapse, all residents would have died," Zoya added.

Meanwhile, Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Kailash Shinde, speaking to the media said, "This building collapsed before 5 am today. It is a G+3 building in Sector-19, Shahbaz village. 52 people were rescued from this 3-storey building. 2 people are trapped in the wreckage who were taken out and there are chances of 2 people trapped still inside. The NDRF team is doing rescue operations. A 10-year-old building is under investigation, we will gather all the details and accordingly, action will be taken against the concerned and responsible people."

Chief Minister Eknath Shine, spoke to the NMMC commissioner and told him that all facilities like medical care, food and water, temporary shelter and etc should be made available to the residents promptly.