Three senior citizens injured after yoga centre roof collapses in Mumbai's Andheri

Three senior citizens were injured after the roof of a yoga centre collapsed on Monday morning amid heavy winds and rain at a communityrun private garden in Lokhandwala Andheri WestAround 10 first responders rushed to the spot and rescued the three victims who had been trapped under the rubble Two of the injured were admitted to Kokilaben Hospital While sources said their physical injuries were minor they were left severely shaken by the incidentThe communityrun private garden where the incident occurred PicsBy Sarthak MehtaAccording to an Oshiwara police official the roof collapsed at around 1115 am Six people were attending the yoga session when the structure gave way Three participants managed to escape while the other three who were seated towards the rear were trapped beneath the debris No fatalities were reportedBMC visits siteBMC officials visited the spot in the afternoon and razed the remaining halffallen structure for public safety ldquoThe K West ward office has officially instructed all the public and private gardens to remain closed until further notice The decision was taken keeping the safety of the citizens in mind amid the red alert and bad weatherrdquo stated Sayali Kulkarni the area councillorFirst responders including residents security guards at the spot where the roof collapsed PicBy Special ArrangementVictim SpeakRajeshwari SekhrildquoI was trapped in the rubble for 1520 minutes it was awful I wasnrsquot even able to move only my hand could move so I was tapping and asking for help constantly The injuries I have suffered donrsquot appear serious on the surface but we are senior citizens our bodies are not that robust I worry about what will be their lasting impact in the futurerdquoPolice SpeakldquoWe attended the emergency call and observed the spot it seems that the metal poles supporting the structure had gone weak due to rust We have taken the victimrsquos statements but they have refused to press any charges Society members who were responsible for the gardenrsquos upkeep have claimed that they had sent a letter to the BMC ward office in February requesting permission for the repairs but didnrsquot hear back Inquiry is ongoing to assess all the factsrdquo a police official from Oshiwara Police Station saidrsquoOfficial SpeakldquoItrsquos a resident societyrun private garden yet we had promptly demolished some of their structures for public safety The ward office has instructed the association committee who are responsible for the garden upkeep to further clear the rubble and audit the rest of the structures Appropriate penal action will be taken if they donrsquot complyrdquo said an official from the KWest ward officeVoicesAyeman Kadri 22 first responderlsquoI saw the roof collapsing in front of my eyes from my apartmentrsquos window which faces the garden Soon after cries for help echoed I rushed to the spot and 1015 of us started moving the rubble Two of the three were pulled out after a few minutes but one aunty remained stuck We managed to get her out in another 15 minutes All of the victims were in shock and they werenrsquot responding well to our questions so we recommended they go to the hospitalrsquoShubhada Shah 49 an eyewitnesslsquoI was one of the six persons who had attended the yoga session that was about to conclude by 1130 am I could have also been injured if not for my spot switch mdash I had come forward near our instructor for better hearability We three who were seated ahead missed the collapse closely while the three behind us got caught in the rubble I called the residents for help I called the emergency services and I called the society secretary We never encountered or expected such an incident It was unexpected and has left us all in shockrsquoDhaval Shah a residentlsquoI was there at the incident site for over an hour We all saw how the aged structure including weak loadsupporting poles had given up which mustrsquove caused the collapse This incident could have been avoided if resident association members responsible for the upkeep of the garden had carried out timely preventive repairs They should have planned for the monsoon season wellrsquopopcorn number1115 am descTime the incident occurred classDefault