people in the rubble of a five-storey apartment building after it
collapsed in Mahad on August 24, 2020. Pritam SAKPAL /
AFP
One person was killed and dozens feared trapped after a
five-storey apartment building collapsed late Monday in western
India, officials said, with a local legislator warning that the
number could be as high as 200.
The structure comprised 47 flats, police in the town of Mahad —
120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Mumbai — said in a
statement.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear but building
collapses are common during India’s June-September monsoon, with
old and rickety structures buckling under the weight of non-stop
rain.
Three rescue teams, armed with specialised equipment and sniffer
dogs, had been deployed to the scene of the accident, a statement
from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said, with
Home Minister Amit Shah tweeting that he was “praying for
everyone’s safety”.
NDRF spokesman Sachidanand Gawde told reporters that emergency
workers had retrieved the body of one victim, while Mahad police
said at least 70 people were believed to be trapped under
rubble.
“Fifteen injured people have been rescued and taken to
hospital,” the police said in a statement.
people in the rubble of a five-storey apartment building after it
collapsed in Mahad on August 24, 2020. Pritam SAKPAL /
AFP
Local residents and police combed through tin sheets, metal rods
and other wreckage in a desperate search for survivors as
ambulances ferried victims to nearby hospitals.
Mahad legislator Bharat Gogawale told the local TV9 Marathi
channel that early estimates seemed to suggest that “over 200
people are stuck inside”.
“Our primary goal is to rescue as many people as possible who
are trapped under the debris”.
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“We cannot yet ascertain the reason for the collapse”, he
added.
– ‘Scary situation’ –
Local politician Manik Motiram Jagtap told the channel that the
structure was 10 years old and built on “weak” foundations.
“It fell like a house of cards,” Jagtap said.
“It is a scary situation.”
As night fell, emergency workers used cranes to try and remove
the rubble as relatives anxiously waited for news of their loved
ones.
The office of Uddhav Thackeray, chief minister of Maharashtra
state, where Mahad is located, 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 monsoon plays a vital role in boosting agricultural harvests
across South Asia. But it also causes widespread death and
destruction, unleashing floods, triggering building collapses and
inundating low-lying villages.
The death toll from monsoon-related disasters this year has
topped 1,200, including more than 800 lives lost in India
alone.
The accident brings yet more bad news for Maharashtra, which has
already been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, with the state
accounting for over a fifth of India’s more than three million
infections.
The pandemic has also cast a shadow on the ongoing Ganesha
Chaturthi festival, with Hindu devotees ordered to sharply scale
down celebrations and rituals honouring the much-loved elephant god
in a bid to limit the spread of the virus.
AFP