The unauthorised four-storey building, housing nearly 50 flats, collapsed on an adjacent vacant tenement at Vijay Nagar in Virar area at 12.05 am on Wednesday
Pic/PTI
The officials on Thursday said that the death toll in the collapse of a building at Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district has gone up to 15 with the recovery of three more bodies overnight, reported news agency PTI.
The unauthorised four-storey building, housing nearly 50 flats, collapsed on an adjacent vacant tenement at Vijay Nagar in Virar area at 12.05 am on Wednesday, they said, reported PTI.
A one-year-old girl's birthday party was underway on the fourth floor when 12 flats in a wing of the building collapsed, trapping residents and guests under the debris, as per eyewitnesses.
Palghar District Collector Dr Indu Rani Jakhar on Thursday morning confirmed that the death toll in the incident has gone up to 15, reported PTI.
The work of clearing the debris by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other rescue teams will continue to ensure no other person is trapped under the rubble, she told PTI.
The chawl or tenement on which the building collapsed was vacant, said Vivekanand Kadam, District Disaster Management Officer of Palghar.
As a precautionary measure, all the chawls around the ill-fated building have been vacated and occupants shifted to safer places, he said.
Constructed in 2012, Ramabai Apartment has 50 flats, and the collapsed part had 12 apartments, said Kadam.
A spokesperson of the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation confirmed that the building was "illegal", reported PTI.
The removal of debris was delayed because officials initially struggled to bring heavy machinery to the crashed building located in a congested locality.
The collapse has rendered several families homeless.
"All affected families have been temporarily housed at Chandansar Samajmandir. We are providing food, water, medical assistance, and other essential services," VVMC Assistant Commissioner Gilson Gonsalves said, reported PTI.
Police arrested the builder of the building after Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) lodged a complaint.
Authorities have so far identified seven of the twelve deceased as Arohi Omkar Jovil (24), her one-year-old daughter Utkarsha Jovil, Laxman Kisku Singh (26), Dinesh Prakash Sapkal (43), Supriya Nivalkar (38), Arnav Nivalkar (11), and Parvati Sapkal, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
