A major accident occurred late Thursday night (July 30) in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. A dilapidated ground-plus-four-story building, Kohinoor Apartments, located in Balaji Nagar-Gangaramwadi, Bhiwandi Municipal Corporation area, collapsed like a house of cards. Seven people have been reported dead so far. Rescue operations are underway, with fears that many more may be trapped.
Upon receiving the information, the fire brigade, police, and the municipal disaster management team arrived at the scene. However, the narrow streets posed initial difficulties in rescue operations. Later, NDRF and TDRF teams arrived. After removing an old chawl on the way with a JCB, rescue teams were able to reach the debris and a war-like rescue operation was launched.
Kohinoor Apartments was assessed in 2007, while the building was constructed in 2012. The building has two wings. Due to poor construction quality, it was considered dilapidated from the start, and the Municipal Corporation had declared it dangerous and issued a notice. Repair work was underway on the ground floor pillars of one wing due to their weakness.
Cracks began appearing in the building around 6:00 pm on Thursday. Upon receiving reports of the building tilting at 8:00 pm, Assistant Commissioner of Division Committee Number Four, Arvind Ghogare, arrived at the scene with his team, and the building was being evacuated. Some people were inside removing belongings, and repair work was underway. Meanwhile, the building suddenly collapsed.
The Municipal Corporation had already declared this building dangerous and posted a notice. According to preliminary information, the accident occurred during ongoing repair work on the ground floor. Currently, five to six people are feared trapped under the debris. The NDRF, TDRF, fire brigade, and other relief agencies are jointly engaged in rescue operations at the site, according to MLA Mahesh Chaugule.
The administration says that the top priority right now is to safely evacuate those trapped in the debris. All municipal teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations. Mayor Narayan Chaudhary stated that since the building had already been declared dangerous, most people were evacuated, averting a major disaster. He appealed to citizens not to risk living in buildings declared dangerous. Temporary accommodation has also been arranged for affected families in nearby schools and community buildings.
Arvind Gupta and his wife, who lived in the building during the accident, managed to escape, but their daughter, Komal, was trapped in the debris. Komal, courageously climbing out of the rubble, saved her life. She explained that repair work was underway on the pillars of the building when the entire structure suddenly collapsed.
Immediately after the accident, local youth began rescue operations and rescued many people. They also successfully rescued two people trapped under the debris. However, five to six people are still feared trapped. The NDRF, TDRF, fire brigade, police, and local administration are continuously conducting relief and rescue operations.