Parle balcony collapse kills elderly couple

Priscilla and Roby Misquitta; (right) They were standing in the balcony of their second floor house. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Twenty-one year old Zeno Misquitta, was looking at an annual religious procession from the balcony of his house at Vile Parle with his parents on Sunday afternoon, when it collapsed. While Zeno escaped with minor bruises, his parents, Roby, 70, and Priscilla Misquitta, 65, died in the incident. The mishap was captured via the CCTV camera nearby.

Zeno escaped with minor bruises and was in a state of shock when he was rushed to the nearby Cooper hospital. He was discharged in the evening. Zeno recalled, "We were watching the procession band of the feast of St John the Baptist passing below our house. The balcony collapsed and for a few minutes I was blank and did not understand what was happening. Moments later I heard screams. People from my neighbourhood pulled me out and rushed me to the hospital."

He added, "It was only later I was informed my parents are no more." Zeno works in the customer service department of Tech Mahindra at Malad and was on his weekly off on Sunday.

The debris of the building at Parle Gaothan in Vile Parle on Sunday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The incident took place in the building known as House No. 107 at 2.27 pm at Vile Parle Gaothan on St Braz Road, near Nanavati Hospital. The Mumbai Fire Brigade deployed two fire engines to the spot.

Both Roby and Priscilla Misquita were declared brought dead by the doctors at the R N Cooper Hospital. Apart from the Misquita family, another woman was injured in the collapse. Sumitra Devi, 53, who resides next to the building had also come out of her house to watch the procession. She suffered minor injuries and was later discharged.

Jude D'Souza, a resident of the gaothan and a witness to the incident, said, "It is really sad both uncle and aunty did not survive. We grew up in the area and have seen the building come up around two decades ago. The Misquittas might have come to this building roughly 15 years ago. They were nice people."

Zeno Misquitta, resident of the second floor

He added, "The family resided on the second floor of the building. The person living on the first floor is out of town. On the ground floor, there is a commercial storage facility for metal ware that is sold in a showroom located on Vallabhbhai Road. The balconies were dilapidated. Metal beams were set up on the ground
floor to support the first-floor balcony."

The funeral of the Miquittas will be on Monday. Zeno will stay with his neighbours until his relatives arrive.

Former local corporator Aneesh Makwaaney and local MLA Parag Alavani rushed to the spot. "Locals and us took the victims to the hospital. The building is at least 20 to 25 years old. We will extend whatever help possible to the survivor who lost his parents," said Makwaaney.

2.27pm
Time mishap occurred on Sunday