Boy, 7, dies, 6 injured in Mumbai building collapse
A seven-year-old boy died and six were injured after a four-storey illegal building came crashing down in the congested Qureshi Nagar in Kurla late on Wednesday night. People staying in the vicinity are furious, as, according to them, the authorities ignored their warnings of the danger posed by the construction.
The façade of the four-storey building Rafiq Estate collapsed at around 11.45 pm. A part of the building fell onto the neighbouring ground, while some of it fell onto the mezzanine floor of Pirangudan chawl, trapping nearly seven members of a family. A portion of the building also collapsed onto a school, which was however vacant at the time.
The body of seven-year-old Shahid Khan was recovered from under the debris after three hours and was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead before admission. His father Javed (45), sister Amreen (21) and mother Rukaiya (42) who lives in Pirangudan chawl have sustained injuries in the incident. Shahid’s uncle Firoz and aunt Akhtari, who were sleeping on the mezzanine floor, escaped with minor injuries.
Fireman Ravindra Pokale too sustained injuries while looking for people trapped under the debris. “The residents of Rafiq Estate had evacuated the building on Wednesday morning after it started shaking. However, they did not alert us,” said Naeem Khan, a resident of Pirangudan chawl.
Meanwhile, the incident has left residents in the area furious as they had lodged several complaints with the civic authorities about the illegal structure. Residents said that although there are many such illegal and dangerous buildings in the vicinity, the authorities are not paying any attention to their complaints and are not demolishing them.
The residents also alleged that the landlords keep constructing new floors above the existing floors illegally and keep tenants in dangerous conditions. “The BMC frequently issues notices to the residents staying illegally but they are not ready to leave the place,” said Vidya Bhoir, corporator of the area.
Despite repeated attempts, Mr R. Dhakane, assistant commissioner, L-ward, was unavailable for comment.
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