Dozens feared trapped in building collapse in India’s Maharashtra
Nearly two dozen people have been wounded while many, including children, remain trapped in the debris of a fivestorey building that collapsed in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Reports reaching Daily Times on Monday said more than two dozen people were pulled out by rescue teams and taken to hospital amid heavy monsoon rains at the disaster site in Mahad in Raigad district, about 160km (100 miles) south of India’s financial capital, Mumbai.
“We apprehend that up to 70 people may be trapped under the debris,” regional police head Anil Paraskar said on Monday.
The building was comprised of 47 flats, police officials in Mahad said in a statement.
Rescue teams and canine squads were deployed to the scene of the accident, a statement from India’s National Disaster Response Force said.
Television footage showed local residents and police officers combing through tin sheets and other wreckage in a desperate search for survivors.
Former Mahad legislator Manik Motiram Jagtap told the local TV9 Marathi channel that the structure was 10 years old and built on “weak” foundations. “It fell like a house of cards,” he said.
“It is a scary situation.” The office of Uddhav Thackeray, chief minister of Maharashtra state, said on Twitter that he had been in touch with local representatives in the area.
“He has assured them that all possible support will be extended for speedy rescue and relief works,” the tweet said.
The cause of the accident was not clear. But building collapses are common in India, usually due to shoddy construction, substandard materials and disregard of regulations.
Many of these accidents occur between June and September during the monsoon season, which plays a vital role in boosting agricultural harvests across South Asia.
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But the monsoon season also causes widespread death and destruction, unleashing floods, triggering building collapses and inundating low-lying villages.
The death toll from monsoonrelated disasters this year has topped 1,200, including more than 800 lives lost in India alone, according to a tally by the AFP news agency.
