Three killed, two hurt in Navi Mumbai building collapse; illegal structure identified years before

NAVI MUMBAI: Three persons were killed and two injured after a ground-plus-four-storey structure in Shahbaz village, CBD-Belapur, collapsed Saturday morning, reports Umesh K Parida.
The building, allegedly constructed illegally, started cracking from the second floor area at around 3am on Saturday, after which residents began vacating the structure. It collapsed an hour later at 4am.Two of the deceased were crew members of a shipping company while the third was aspiring to join a marine group.
CM Eknath Shinde, who was attending the Niti Aayog meeting in Delhi, dialled the Navi Mumbai civic chief and directed him to provide all necessary assistance.
Bldg was illegal, part of it razed in 2010: NMMC
Constructed in 2009, the structure that collapsed in Belapur was illegal, according to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. A partial demolition was conducted by the civic body in 2010, which many said was an eyewash. A notice was also served by the civic body in 2011, but no further action was taken against the dilapidated building in the last 14 years.
Activists allege the civic body did not act even though there was no court stay on demolition and have demanded action against erring officials. The building had four rooms on each floor, while the ground floor had one room and three shops.
Activist Anarjit Chauhan alleged, "Civic chief, his deputy, head of the department and ward office are duty bound to register criminal offences. NMMC neither filed any caveat in court nor took any action against illegalities."
Municipal commissioner Kailas Shinde said, "The villagers construct houses on their own without following due procedure. There are many such constructions."
55 residents of Belapur building escaped before crash; victims were roommates
The illegal structure in CBD-Belapur that collapsed Saturday and led to three deaths was constructed by the Waghmare family and had 17 small dwelling units and three shops. A total of 55 persons, including 16 minors, managed to escape before the building collapsed.
The three deceased have been identified as Miraj Shaikh (30), a resident of Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Meraj Ansari (24), a resident of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Shafiq Ansari (29), a resident of Bhiwandi, Thane. All three were staying in the same room. Among the injured who were rescued in a 12-hour operation, Lalluddin Pathan (23) sustained abrasions while Ruksar Pathan (19) suffered a pelvis fracture. Both are under observation at a civic body hospital in Vashi.
Mumbra-resident Khurshid Ansari, said, "Meraj Ansari did not listen to his father's advice to stay with us after he arrived from UP four days ago." A unit of the National Disaster Response Force 5th Battalion-Pune posted in Badlapur was returning towards Thane in the wee hours when it was directed to head for the rescue operation midway.
NDRF inspector Sushant Sethi said, "Our canine team could not sniff out the trapped trio, although we did find the location of two of them later."
"The deceased had sustained multiple leg and pelvis injuries. There may have been internal bleeding. Suffocation cannot be ruled out," said civic hospital's medical superintendent Dr Rajesh Mhatre.
Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner Kailas Shinde said the injured are being treated for free at govt hospital in Vashi. "A report is being sent to the Thane district administration for appropriate compensation to the kin of the deceased. Some of the residents are accommodated in our Niwara Centre (shelter home)," he said. Two of the owners of the buildings did not respond to this reporter's calls.
3rd-floor tenant saved lives of 4 families before fleeing; woman resident even abused him for waking her up
A third floor tenant, Subrata Das (45), a driver by profession, saved the lives of four families while climbing down the building. He also tried to wake his three neighbours who died in the mishap. Das lived in the building with his wife Archana; his children are studying in his native place in Murshidabad, West Bengal.
Das normally wakes up at 3am to start driving towards Pune. On the day of the incident, he heard someone from the road shouting and asking him to leave the building. Das ran and asked his wife to get up and leave, but didn't vacate the building before reaching out to others.
He first called his immediate neighbours, three or four people sharing the same unit, but they did not wake up and ended up in the debris. Two other families, one on the first and the other on the second floor, left for safer places and escaped unhurt after hearing Das. One woman started verbally abusing him when he woke her up middle of the night. She initially resisted his bid to get her out, but her family was saved.
Another resident, Devdatt Yadav, his wife Rinki and two minor daughters (10-month-old baby and 10-year-old girl), also escaped unhurt. He had plans of vacating the room by July 30. "The building's condition was a concern from the start. I had decided to relocate for the safety of my family, but everything ended in debris," said Yadav.