26 August,2009 07:59 AM IST | | Ketan Ranga and Varun Singh
Rescued residents who locked themselves in fear and even carried an injured 80-year-old five floors before fire brigade or police got there
Emerging from the sea of fire brigade officials and police officers at Yusuf Manzil was a hero Swapnil Bhor, all of 21 years. Bhor was a couple of feet from the building, when he heard the explosion of the collapsing building.
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By doing that, he rescued 10 people includingu00a0 the landlady, octogenarian Zubeida Khambhati. Unfortunately, Zubeida succumbed to her injuries later.
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"I wish I could have been there five minutes earlier, she could have been saved too," said Bhor emotionally.
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Shocked
Recalling the incident, Bhor said residents were so shocked at the collapse, that instead of going down to safe ground, they had locked themselves inside their apartments. "I banged on each door and asked people to come out.
Finally, there were around 10 people including children with me. I told them to go down to safety. The old lady could not walk so I carried her down in a chair.
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"I stopped at every floor catching my breath, as it was difficult to get her five floors down all by myself," he said.
'Great Job'
Meanwhile, the Mumbai police plan to felicitate Bhor for his bravery.
Mumbai Police DCP Zone 2, Sanjay Mohite said, "He did a great job. In fact, the old lady's son narrated his brave work to us. We are planning to felicitate him."
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Champion: Swapnil Bhoru00a0ran up to the fifth floor of Yusuf Manzil through the staircase of an adjacent building and rescued those trapped inside. Fire personnel rescue a child. |
The front face of a six storey MHADA building on Lamington road collapsed today evening injuring three while several others are feared trapped beneath rubble.
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Part of building 294/296 Yusuf gave way at around 6.55 pm. One woman who was critically injured has been rushed to Nair Hospital where she is presently in the ICU, while firefighters were busy clearing rubble from the site of the incident. At the time of going to print, rescue officials had rescued five people, four adults and one infant.
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According to Azhar Bangdiwala, a resident of adjacent building Dhun, the neighbourhood was alerted when they heard a big bang.
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"By the time I had gotten out of my flat and climbed three floors down, the building Yusuf was already rubble." Three families have been shifted to the transit camp in Dharavi.
MHADA official Vaishali Chandan Singh confirmed that it was a cessed building and the permission for renovation had already been granted to a new architect.
The building was a 104 year old structure but did not fall in the dilapidated category.
The Crash
6:55 pm: Yusuf Manzil starts collapsing. Two pedestrians scream as debris fall on them
7 pm: Chunk of debris falls on taxi. Two constables from D B Marg police station rush to the spot
7:05 pm: Residents from neighbouring buildings rush out and cause commotion
7:15 pm: Fire engines arrive and start rescue operation. Police cordon off area
7:20 pm: Landlady (83) rescued and rushed to Nair Hospital in a critical condition
7: 25 pm: Fire officials reach second floor and rescue a mother with an infant along with two others
8:00 pm onwards: Fire officials continue to rescue people and clear debris
