Man who died in Bandra building collapse came to pick laptop from shop

Bruce D Penha, 41, was one of two people pulled out of rubble at Shirley Rajan on Monday night; the other injured man is recovering

A day after a four-storey dilapidated structure collapsed at Shirley Rajan Road in Bandra West, Bruce D'Penha, 41, one of the two survivors pulled out of the rubble died at Lilavati hospital in the early hours of Tuesday while the other is recovering from severe injuries. The day ended on a tragic note for D'Penha who had gone to pick up his laptop and charger from a shop in the adjacent building when the rubble collapsed on him.

Officials from the H West ward said that one of the three wings of the Bharati building collapsed. No one had ever stayed in the building which was caught up in litigation with the BMC. "The structure with stilt parking had four storeys and a partial fifth storey. The commencement certificate was issued in 1983. We had issued a notice under section 353 B (asking for structural audit) in the third week of July but the owners had asked for some more time," said an official. When the structure collapsed, it fell sideways on the next building, Hardik Villa.

Fire brigade personnel at the site of the building collapse in Bandra West on Monday night. Pic/Shadab Khan

Eight people got stuck
Around eight people who were in the shops on the ground floor of Hardik Villa got trapped under the debris. The shops include a salon, a computer repair shop, an office, a pharmacy and a restaurant. Sufiyan Merchant, owner of Sharp Computing, was in the shop when the building fell along with his eight staffers and D'Penha, a Bandra resident. "D'Penha's laptop had some problem and he had come to pick it. He was standing outside the counter and I had gone in to get his laptop charger when I heard the loud noise. Everything happened really fast and I fell under a covering," said Merchant.

Merchant's shop had an access passage to the next shop covered with a wooden board. "I broke the board and escaped through the next shop. As the building collapsed, I turned around to look at Bruce who was standing behind the pillar and in the next second he was gone," he said. He added that his shop sustained severe damage.

Bruce D'Penha

Trapped behind a pillar
D'Penha was trapped behind a pillar under a lot of debris. He had to be carried out over the pillar and 15-18 people helped to bring him till the ambulance. "He was an old customer and I knew everyone in his family. I'm shocked and still coming to terms with what happened," he said.

After D'Penha was rushed to Lilavati Hospital around 11.30 pm on Monday, authorities said that he was not breathing. "We started cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and he was put on an artificial respirator. He had injuries on his skull and limbs. He could not be revived and was declared dead early morning on Tuesday," said Dr V Ravishankar, CEO, Lilavati Hospital. Khar police have registered a case of accidental death.

The other injured is Arjun Pandit, 25, who was rushed to Bhabha Hospital. Dr Pradeep Jadhav, superintendent of Bhabha Hospital said, "He sustained a pelvic fracture, a laceration wound on his forehead and complained of weakness in his lower limbs. He has been transferred to KEM Hospital for further treatment."

Demolish bldgs under litigation
While Congress corporator Asif Zakaria said that BMC is partly to blame, BJP corporator Swapna Mhatre said that proactive action is needed regarding dilapidated buildings. "The BMC should have pulled down the building in the interest of other people. Simply giving notice and prolonging the matter isn't a solution since safety is above everything else," Zakaria said. Mhatre too said that dangerous buildings stuck in litigation should be demolished. "The courts should resolve the issues quickly or allow the demolition of the building at least in densely populated areas to avoid such incidents," she said.

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